“I don’t think it will be colder, but it can’t hurt to have one, just in case,” Jenny said. “Can you stay down here with Miss Trudy and Mr. Ward for a sec?”
Gael nodded gratefully and Jenny ran back up to the room to grab another sweater for each of them before they headed out.
The drive out to Amish country was lovely. Once they were out of Tarker County, the land spread out even more with snowy fields as far as the eye could see.
“Are you sure Amish country is here?” Gael asked when they had been driving for about half an hour.
But before Jenny could answer, the car in front of them slowed almost to a stop.
A few minutes later, there was a dotted yellow line, and the other car passed a horse and buggy.
“Wow,” Gael squared. “I can’t believe it.”
“We’re going to pass,” Jenny warned him. “So keepan eye on them and you’ll really get to see the horse on the way by.”
Once they passed the buggy, there were a few farmhouses a bit closer together, and the beginnings of a little town.
She turned off the main road, as Trudy had instructed, and on her next turn they found themselves in a sweet little village with clapboard shops, a big red barn that had been converted into a restaurant, and tall trees lining the streets.
“Should we stop here, or keep going to the farm?” she asked Gael.
“The farm, please,” he said. “I want to see the animals.”
“Okay,” she told him. “Maybe we’ll stop here on the way back.”
They continued on and soon there was a wooden sign for Esh Farm above a chalkboard listing baked goods and dairy products that were available, and a note that the animal barn was open for visiting.
“This is it,” Gael said, looking like he might start jumping up and down right in the car.
Jenny smiled and followed the dirt road back to a handprinted sign that saidParking.
Her rented car was the only one, so they parked close and hopped out, crunching through the snow until they reached a sort of detached porch beside a farmhouse.
One lady in a gown and bonnet was feeding her baby while another lady knitted. The big table in front of them was laid with baked goods. A very tiny girl sat under the table, pulling a dress onto her rag doll.
Gael ran right up, and the lady put down her knitting to greet him.
If Jenny had been nervous about interacting with women from a culture so different from their own, there was no reason. Gael seemed to form an instant bond as he exclaimed over the baked goods.
When the other lady finished feeding her baby and offered to bring them to visit with the animals in the barn Gael was so delighted that the ladies could only smile at him, charmed.
Later that afternoon,Jenny drove them back to the inn. It had been a beautiful day, with so much to see and so many kind people to talk with.
She suspected that Gael’s open-hearted nature had given them a more in-depth understanding of the Amish life. He had asked one question after another, and the women had kindly answered him, explaining about their clothing, the animals, and what their lives were like.
Then he’d insisted that Jenny buy one of each baked good on the table so they could take it all to theCenter to share. That meant passing the inn on the way home and doubling back, but Jenny knew there was no point arguing, because Gael had an idea he was excited about, and she was all for it.
They had waved goodbye to their new friends and filled the trunk with shoofly pies, whoopie pies, friendship bread, and even something called fasnachts, which she thought were sort of like doughnuts.
The guys at the Center had been delighted to see Gael, and half of what they brought was eaten up in a heartbeat. The two of them were invited to stay and play a card game, but Gael was eager to get back to the inn and get ready for their dinner out, so they said their goodbyes and got right back in the car.
Jenny was honestly a little surprised that he still wanted to go out. After eating delicious treats all day, and walking around the farm and the little village, she wouldn’t have thought he’d still have the energy or the appetite for it.
But this vacation was all about Gael, and she was happy to go out for the evening if that was what he had in mind.
When they stepped into the inn, Gael ran to find Trudy and Ward and give them the shoofly pie he and Jenny had bought for them.
Trudy fussed over him and Ward pretended he was going to eat the whole thing and not share any with Trudy.
