Katie's First Social
(A Fairfield Amish Romance Short Story)
By Elanor Miller
Copyright ? 2015 Fairfield Publishing
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Except for review quotes, this book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the author.
This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is purely coincidental.
Thank you so much for buying my book. I hope you enjoy it. Please note that I try to make my stories as authentic as possible so I use some Amish words in dialogue. I have included a glossary at the back of the book called Amish Vernacular. Also, make sure you sign up for our newsletter so you can learn about all our new releases!
https://www.FairfieldAmishRomance.com/newsletter
Chapter 1: The Accident
Katie stared in horror at the disaster in front of her. The table was broken in half. Plates, cups, and baked goods were strewn all over the barn. Everything was covered in a layer of hay.
It was all ruined. Katie had waited her whole life for this event and now it was ruined. Her emotions got the best of her and she started to cry.
Emma was gripped by a different emotion. "What have you done?" she yelled at her thirteen-year-old brother. "When I catch you, Levi, you're gonna get a beating."
The sound of running feet on the upper level of the barn told them Levi was fleeing the scene. As much as she wanted to throttle her little brother, Emma was more concerned with fixing the current problem. She was especially grateful, at that moment, that God had blessed her with a level head.
Emma put her arm around her best friend to comfort her. "Everything will be ok," she told her.
"How? Everything is ruined!"
"Nothing's broken that we can't fix," Emma stated confidently.
"But Emma, the table is broken and all the food is on the floor," Katie pointed out with a sob. "People will be here in two hours. This will be the worst social ever!"
"How do you know that?" Emma asked with a smile. "We've never even been to a social."
"It just will," Katie declared on the verge of more tears. "Our first social ever and it's ruined!"
Emma could see she wasn't going to calm Katie down by talking. She would have to put her to work. Hopefully, doing something to put things right would keep her from completely falling apart. "Start picking up the plates and glasses," she told her." I'll go find Jacob. He'll help us fix the table."
"If you say so."
Katie got busy picking things up while Emma went to find her brother. She had just finished picking up the plates and glasses when she heard someone come in the side door of the barn. She turned, expecting to see Emma or Jacob. Instead, it was Levi, looking very uncomfortable.
"I'm really sorry," Levi told her meekly. "I didn't mean to knock over the stack of hay."
She wanted to be angry at him, but she could see he was sorry, and scared. It must have taken a lot of courage to came back in here, she thought.
"I forgive you," she told him.
That was all it took. His boyish exuberance returned in a heartbeat. "Let me help you clean this up."
With the two of them working, the clean up went much faster. Everything was picked up and they were sweeping the floor when Jacob walked into the barn. He took one look at the broken table and hey strewn everywhere and laughed.
"What did you do?" Jacob asked as he put Levi in a playful headlock. "It looks like a tornado blew through here."
Levi pulled away from his older brother and launched into an animated explanation of what happened. It was an entertaining, obviously embellished, story.
"And when the bale of hay hit the table, it exploded," he said as he threw his hands into the air. "Hay went everywhere!"
"I can see that," Jacob said, then added more sternly, "It's by Gott's grace alone that no one got hurt."
"Jah, I know," Levi admitted. "I will be more careful next time I am up there."
"You better," Jacob said in a mildly scolding voice. "Now, finish sweeping up the hay while Katie and I fix the table."
Chapter 2: Working With Jacob
Katie had known Jacob her whole life but had never really spent any time with him. He was one of the most popular boys in the community and the object of many girl's dreams. To her, he had always been her best friend's older brother, nothing more. As she watched him examine the broken table and point out what they needed to do to repair it, she began to notice how truly handsome he was.
She was deep in thought, wondering how she had never noticed his attractiveness when she realized he was talking to her. "So do you think you can help me with that?" Jacob was asking.
"Jah, no problem," she answered, unwilling to admit she had no idea what he wanted her to do.
"Let's go get the wood then," Jacob said with a smile. He knew she hadn't been listening but didn't want to embarrass her. He did wonder what she had been thinking about.
Normally, he would have teased her about not paying attention because she had always been like a little sister to him. Somehow that didn't seem appropriate and he wasn't sure why. Instead, he went over the plan again while they walked.
When they reached the wood shed, Jacob dug through the discarded boards until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a wide board that was at least as long as the table was wide. "We can use this piece on the bottom," he told her.
As he continued to dig through the pile of wood, Katie watched him work. She noticed things she had never noticed before like his strong arms and small cuts on his hands. He must work out here a lot, she thought.
"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked, suddenly feeling guilty for not doing anything.
"Over on the work bench there is a box of nails and a hammer," he told her. "Can you grab those? And the hand saw, we'll need that too."
The workbench was cluttered with tools and small things that apparently needed to be repaired. It took her a few moments to find the nails, hammer, and saw, but she eventually did. When she returned to the woodpile, Jacob had pulled out two more pieces of wood. They were similar to each other, but narrower and shorter than the first piece.
"I will nail the bigger piece to the bottom of the table to hold it together," he told her. "The smaller pieces will be nailed to the sides of the table for support. That should get us through for now. I will do a more thorough repair later."
"Are you going to cut the pieces here?"
"Neh, I need to cut the big piece to match how wide the table is," he told her. "I'll do that when we get back to the barn."
"That makes sense," Katie admitted.
As they walked back, they talked about the rapidly approaching social gathering. "Are you excited about your first social?" Jacob asked.
"Jah, I have been waiting for this my whole life," Katie said dreamily.
"I hope you're not disappointed," he replied somewhat bitterly.
"Why would I be disappointed?" Katie asked with concern.
"Don't get me wrong, they can be a lot of fun," Jacob told her, trying to be upbeat. "It's just . . . they seem to be more trouble than they're worth sometimes."
Katie knew there was more to it than what he was telling her. "What do you mean?"
Just outside the barn, Jacob stopped and turned towards her. "I have been to a lot of socials since I turned sixteen two years ago," he said. "At almost every one of them, I spend time talking with one girl or another. At the end of the night, I give her a ride home. Sometimes, there is another buggy ride or two, but it never works out."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Katie said, not sure what else to say. She f
ound herself feeling happy it hadn't worked out with any of the other girls.
"It doesn't really bother me," he said with a smile. "It does make it hard to avoid all the girls I have given buggy rides too, though."
Katie looked him in the eyes and could see it really did bother him, despite what he said. "I'm sure there's someone out there for you," she said then suddenly looked away.
Feeling more self-conscious than she ever had before, Katie rushed into the barn and almost knocked over Levi who was coming out of the barn. She was glad that he was still there so she didn't have to be alone with Jacob right then. "I'm glad you're still here," she said. "I'm not sure I am strong enough to help Jacob by myself. Maybe you can stay and help too."
With the three of them working to repair the table, it was put back together by the time Emma returned carrying plates of food. "Katie, can you help me bring out the rest of the food?" she asked.
"Jah, of course," Katie agreed quickly and headed for the door.
"Thanks for your help," Jacob called, but she was already out the door heading towards the house.
She didn't understand why, but she was glad to get away from Jacob. At the same time, she couldn't wait until she could talk to him again. What's wrong with me? she wondered as she walked towards Emma's house staring at the ground.
Chapter 3: Katie's First Social
Despite all the problems, the social started on time. There was plenty of food and with a tablecloth spread over the repaired table, you couldn't even tell it had been broken.
When people started showing up, Katie forgot all about Jacob. At least she tried to. She often found her eyes wandering around the room while she talked to someone else until they settled on him. It wasn't a conscious choice, it just seemed to keep happening.
Even with the distraction, it was still the best night of Katie's life. She spent most of the evening at Emma's side talking to boys, playing games, and generally having a good time. Near the end of the social, Emma pulled Katie outside and took her on a walk under the stars.
"It's a beautiful night isn't it?" Emma asked.
"Jah, it is," Katie answered, looking at her friend suspiciously. "I know you didn't pull me out here just to look at the stars."
"I just wanted to talk," Emma told her.
"About what?"
"Well, the night is almost over," Emma stated. "Do you think any of the boys are going to ask to give you a buggy ride home?
"I don't think so," Katie said. "None of the boys seemed very interested in me."
"I'm not so sure," Emma told her. "Several of them seemed interested to me."
"I don't think I want a ride from any of them," Katie said, but she wasn't sure why. Wasn't this what was supposed to happen at a social? It just didn't feel right to her. "What about you?"
"I'm already home," Emma laughed, "but I think Joseph would give me a ride if I wasn't."
"Jah, you did spend a lot of time talking to him."
Emma put her arm around Katie and turned them back towards the barn. "Let's head back to the barn and see about getting you a ride home."
She didn't know where the thought came from, but it slipped out before she could stop it. "Maybe Jacob can give me a ride home."
"Jah, I'm sure he will," Emma said. "You're like a sister to him."
Katie's heart dropped. She hadn't realized until that very moment that she didn't want to be like a sister. She wanted to be more than just Jacob's sister's friend.
But what can I do? Katie asked herself as they walked back to the barn in silence.
When they got back to the barn, Jacob was waiting outside. "There you are, Katie," he said with a big smile. "I was afraid you got a ride home with another boy and didn't even say good bye."
"Neh, we just went for a walk."
Jacob stood there fidgeting for a moment. When he spoke, the words were slow in coming out and Katie could barely hear him. "Since you are still here, I was wondering if you would like me to take you home?" he asked.
Katie looked at him with surprise. She could tell from his nervousness that he wasn't asking because he felt obligated to help his sister's friend. He truly wanted to take her on a buggy ride. The rush of feelings nearly brought tears to her eyes. "I would like that very much," she finally said with a smile.
The excitement was almost more than Katie could handle. She hooked arms with Emma and pulled her close. She turned to her best friend and with a huge grin declared, "This was the best social ever!"
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Appendix: Amish Vernacular
Many Amish speak a combination of English, Pennsylvania Dutch, and German. It is common for Pennsylvania Dutch or German words to be mixed in with predominantly English sentences. Each community, and indeed each individual, will use differing levels of English. Even the Pennsylvania Dutch and German words vary from community to community. Below is a guide to some common words spoken by the Amish in my fictional Fairfield County.
Ach - Oh
Amisch - Amish
Biewel - Bible
Boppli - Baby
Bruder - Brother
Daed - Dad
Denke - Thank You
Dochder - Daughter
Englisch - English
Gott - God
Gut - Good
Haus - House
Jah - Yes
Kaffe - Coffee
Kapp - Cap (typically a prayer kapp)
Maemm - Mom
Mammi - Grandma
Mei - My
Naett - Not
Neh - No
Schweschder - Sister
Wunderbaar - Wonderful