Chapter 13
Samuel hadn't known what to expect from Hannah, but by her expression he gathered she was not thrilled to see him. Could he blame her, though? The last time he’d seen her she'd been nestled in his arms, and he'd been kissing her soft full lips. Samuel shook his head in an attempt to dispel the improper thought. He would not allow himself to think about his best friend's wife in that way, regardless of what they'd shared in the past. Samuel had no intentions of ruining an already fragile marriage.
“What is he doing here?” Hannah asked coldly.
Christian shot her a puzzled look. “Samuel's moving back. He's going to be helping me with the harvest, so he'll be living in the dawdi haus.”
Hannah shook her head. “Why can't he move in with Peter and Deborah?”
“I invited him to stay here. Hannah, what's wrong with you?” Christian scolded, disappointed in her somewhat insolent behavior.
Hannah spun around and stomped off toward their bedroom, to Christian's dismay. The door shut loudly behind her.
“I'm sorry, Samuel. I don't know what's gotten in to Hannah. She's usually not disrespectful. She must not be feeling well.” Christian attempted to explain away his wife's odd behavior.
“Look, Christian. If it's going to be a problem, I can leave. I don't have to stay here,” Samuel said regretfully.
“Nee, you will stay. I want you to stay, Samuel. Hannah will be fine. She's been emotional since the boppli...” Christian's voice trailed off.
“I understand. I just don't want to cause any trouble.”
“You are my best friend. You could never be trouble,” Christian said confidently. “Now about that cup of coffee we were talking about earlier.”
“I'm all for it, but maybe you should go see if Hannah is all right,” Samuel suggested.
“Jah, I will do that.”
Christian gingerly opened the door to the bedroom where Hannah lay on the bed. Her back was turned toward him and he couldn't see her face. “Hannah, Lieb, sit up. I want to talk to you.”
Hannah swiped her eyes and slowly came to a sitting position. She said nothing and stared at the floor.
“What was that all about? Why were you disrespectful to Samuel?” Christian tried to temper his voice.
Hannah squeezed her eyes closed. “How can you just let him come back like that?”
“What?”
“He left you without even saying goodbye. The whole time he was gone, he never sent you any letters. What kind of friend is that?” Hannah said. “And now, you invite him to stay with us?”
“Hannah, Samuel is our friend. He's welcome in our home any time. Whatever grudge you're holding against him, you need to let it go.”
“He was our friend, Christian. Have you forgotten how he just up and left?”
“I don't understand why that's a big deal. Yes, we missed Samuel. But we always knew he'd be going back to Ohio to marry Carolanne. That was no surprise.” Christian sighed. “Hannah, it's Samuel's life. If he wanted to leave the way he did, it was his choice.”
“It wasn't right,” Hannah maintained.
“Hannah, it's not our place to judge. And as long as Samuel is staying in our home, I expect you to be respectful to him. He is our guest and a friend.”
Hannah nodded meekly.
“If you would, I'd like you to make some coffee,” Christian requested. “Samuel and I will be moving his things into the dawdi haus.”
Samuel looked up at Christian as he closed the door behind him and came back into the living room. He couldn't help but overhear the conversation between Hannah and Christian. To his relief, Hannah hadn't mentioned their past relationship. If she had, he was quite certain Christian's demeanor would be different.
“Let's get your things now. Hannah will be preparing us some coffee and a snack,” Christian informed Samuel.
Samuel nodded. He would need to talk to Hannah alone later. Clearly, their past relationship needed closure.
Hannah took the carafe of coffee, poured the hot liquid into two mugs, and set them on the table with fresh cream and pure maple syrup. That had always been a favorite of Christian's and Hannah had to admit she enjoyed the combination as well. She had baked an oatmeal cake – Christian’s favorite – early this morning and decided it would go perfectly with the coffee.
Hannah released the breath she’d been holding. Being rebuked by Christian hadn't been easy, and up until today, he'd never reprimanded her for anything. Of course, she'd never needed to be reproved for anything before. She realized now that she had indeed been rude and she regretted disappointing her husband. But she couldn't help it. How was she supposed to know that Samuel would show up out of the blue after all these years and turn her emotions inside out? In her choler, she'd been tempted to tell Christian about their past, but fortunately thought better of it before she blabbed anything she’d regret.
She decided the best thing for her to do was to avoid Samuel as much as possible. If she didn't have to look at him or talk to him, everything would be fine. She would simply pretend he wasn't there. After all, she'd become very good at pretending. And when she had to speak out of common courtesy, she would say only what was necessary.
Christian softly stroked Hannah's long hair as she lay next to him on their bed. “Hannah, I'm sorry for getting upset with you earlier today,” he whispered. “Denki for being kind to Samuel this evening.”
Hannah turned over and snuggled close to her husband. “Denki for saying that, Christian. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Schatzi.” Christian bent down and planted a kiss on Hannah's lips then pulled their wedding quilt up over their heads.
After breakfast, Samuel sat on a small bench just inside the back door, tying the laces on his work boots. He purposely lingered in hopes of speaking with Hannah. Since she'd been smiling this morning, he hoped it would be a gut time to catch her alone. He glanced out the window of the back door and noticed Christian stepping into the barn to begin morning chores. Samuel took one last swig of his coffee and neared the kitchen sink to place his empty mug on the counter. Hannah had already begun washing the breakfast dishes.
“Hannah, I wanted to say –”
“Don't you think Christian's waiting for you outside?” she spat out, clenching her hands tightly in the dish water.
“I was hoping we could talk,” he said gently. Samuel wished she would just look at him and see the sincerity in his eyes. He genuinely desired to rectify past wrongs.
“I'm not interested in talking with you, Samuel. Now I think it's best that you get to work. Christian will wonder where you are,” she answered curtly, then resumed her dish washing with vigor. “We wouldn't want him to think there was ever anything between us, would we?”
Samuel sighed with a heavy heart and resignedly walked to the door. Yep, he'd read her correctly. She hadn't forgiven him for leaving the way he did. He couldn't say he blamed her, though. Regaining her friendship certainly wasn't going to be easy. At least he still had Christian's friendship; fortunately, all hadn't been lost.