do that again. He realized that Sara was saying something about a dowry and he jerked upright, giving her his attention again.
“Do you mind?” she said.
“M-mind what?”
“Financial wealth of a girl’s father.” She peered over her glasses at him. “Is that something that’s important to you?”
“Ne.” He shook his head. “I don’t care. Money...money isn’t important to me. I mean...it is, but I don’t expect... It doesn’t matter. Ruby could be penniless. It’s fine.” He took a breath. “So, are we courting? Officially?”
“Ne. You are not. Not yet. It’s simply not the way I operate,” Sara said firmly. “I’m happy that you’re committed, but I’ve had a lot of experience with matching couples. Often young people form attractions, infatuations, if you will. But marriages, good marriages are not built on infatuation. There has to be more, things like mutual respect, compatibility and an equal commitment to faith. Think of it as laying a foundation.” She indicated him with her hand. “You’re a mason. You understand the need for a solid foundation.”
“A house won’t stand without it.”
“Exactly. And for an Amish couple, the foundation is even more important. We marry for life. There’s no divorce. Whoever you choose and whoever chooses you, chooses until death parts you.”
“I—” A knock at the door interrupted what he was going to say.
“Ya?” Sara asked.
The office door opened and a man in a patched blue shirt and raggedy straw hat in his hand peered in. “Mule’s thrown a shoe,” he said. “What do you want me to do?”
“Take him to the smithy, Hiram. A mule can’t work with three feet, can he?”
The door opened wider and Hiram stepped through. He was the man that Joseph had seen unloading a bag of feed from a wagon when he’d driven into Sara’s yard. “Planning on cutting hay in that little field.”
“Then it will have to wait. Tend to the mule first.”
Hiram scratched his head. “Thought you’d say that.”
“I’m in the middle of an appointment,” Sara explained. “Close the door behind you.”
“What do I do for money?” Hiram asked.
“The blacksmith will send me a bill.” She raised a hand and waved at him. “Goodbye, Hiram. Thank you.”
Hiram grimaced. “Leah said don’t bother you. You got somebody in the office.”
“That’s right,” Sara said. “When I’m with someone, I don’t like interruptions unless it’s important. Extremely important.”
“But the mule threw a shoe,” he said doggedly.
She smiled. Her tone was kind when she spoke. “And I trust you to take the mule to the smithy and have a new shoe put on.”
Muttering to himself, Hiram backed out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him.
“My hired man,” Sara explained. “I’m sorry. You were saying?”
Joseph stared at the toes of his work boots. “I was saying that I...that I think we’re compatible. Very...compatible. Ruby, she...she’s kind. She cares about people. I always wanted a kind wife, somebody who...would love me.” The last three words came out as a whisper. It wasn’t that the idea of love that embarrassed him, only saying it out loud. Because he did want a woman who would love him, someone he could love. Not just like. Once, when he was rumspringa, his running-around time before he’d been baptized, he’d seen a romantic movie at an Englisher’s house about a man and woman who were in love, and a message one of them had written and put in a bottle. The movie had been sad. It had made him tear up. But it had been a notion he’d remembered. He didn’t think his mother and father had loved each other like that. Was it greedy to want it for himself?
“Marriage isn’t just about a man and a woman,” Sara was saying.
He wondered if she’d heard what he’d said. What he meant about wanting romantic love in his marriage.
“Marriage is about family,” she continued. “Family and faith, respect and friendship.”
“And love?” he asked, daring to repeat himself and reveal his inner hope.
“Sometimes a couple will be fortunate enough to find love ahead of the marriage, but usually it comes later. That said—” she held up her finger “—there’s nothing wrong with searching for love. At least I don’t think so. But to get back to you and Ruby, we have to go slowly.”
He fiddled with the brim of his hat. “And what if we don’t want that? Ruby and I?”
“I insist. Who is the expert here, Joseph? There’s a lot to consider. In your case, one issue is your mother. What do you think she would say if you rushed into an arrangement and started talking about marriage to a girl you haven’t even walked out with?”
“I don’t suppose she’d like that.” He looked down and then back at Sara. “But Mother wants me to marry. She’s the one who told me to come to you. She said I’d never find someone on my own.”
Sara got up and came around the desk to stand only a few feet from him. Hastily, he got to his feet again.
“I’m sure Magdalena wants the best for you,” Sara said. “But it’s never easy for a woman to welcome another woman into her home. To give up her son to a wife.”
“She’ll have to accept Ruby. I can deal with my mam.” He shuffled his feet. “But what if we want to marry and you don’t agree? Do you have to approve of the match?”
Sara straightened her shoulders. “I can tell you that I once stopped a wedding on the morning of the marriage. I told the bishop and the elders that the couple was not right for each other. They called off the wedding.”
“What did the couple do? Were they unhappy with you?”
“They were. At the time. But a few months proved that I was right. I told you—I know what I’m doing. I don’t make careless matches. I make marriages that are strong and loving, marriages that will only grow stronger through the years. Do this my way, Joseph, and you’ll never regret it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he admitted. “But I really...like Ruby. And she likes me.” He considered for a moment and then asked. “What happened to the couple? Did...did they ever marry?”
Sara chuckled. “They did, but not to each other. The man married his almost bride’s older sister and the girl married his younger cousin. Both marriages that I arranged. And they have worked out beautifully. Between the four of them, they have nine children, and it’s only been seven years.”
He glanced longingly at the door. “So what happens next? With me and Ruby? About, you know...taking it slowly.”
“We’ll start with a simple supper. Tomorrow night. Be here at six thirty, and bring your appetite.”
“Mother will want to meet her. Can I bring her?”
Sara shook her head firmly. “Too soon. I’ll invite Magdalena when it’s the right time.” She glanced at the schoolhouse clock on the wall. “And now I suppose you want to get off to work.” She opened the door. “Have a good day, Joseph. And don’t be late for supper. I hate it when young men keep my girls waiting.”
Gratefully, he hurried out. He hadn’t gotten all he’d wanted, but neither had Sara rejected him. He wasn’t going to worry. Sara would see how perfect he and Ruby were for each other. He was certain of it. He couldn’t wait to see Ruby tomorrow night, and he couldn’t wait to tell his mother that he’d found the girl he’d been waiting for.
* * *
School