An Amish Christmas by Cynthia Keller

Author:Cynthia Keller [Keller, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781602859548
Publisher: Center Point Pub
Published: 2009-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Lizzie grimaced at the tall laminated menu. “Why aren’t all these people dead of heart attacks? I can’t even believe what they eat.”

James smiled. “Not exactly like the restaurants back home, is it? No arugula salad, say, or grilled fish.”

Lizzie wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Ick. It’s not like I eat that stuff, either.”

“They really love their ham here, you gotta give them that,” Will added as he scanned the offerings.

The restaurant was a sea of empty tables. It was lunchtime on a Wednesday afternoon in December, so Meg was hardly surprised that the cavernous restaurant was practically deserted. Other than a young couple with twin toddlers and an elderly couple lingering over coffee, she didn’t see any other customers. This place must serve a billion tourists in the summer, she thought. Which was probably a good thing.

Delivering the pies the day before, she had come to understand what a strange relationship the Amish had with tourists. Or at least it seemed strange to her. While the tourists invaded the peaceful existence, they also brought in money to sustain it. During the ride, Jonathan had explained that the increasing price of land made it difficult for the younger generations to buy property near their families. As much as the Amish valued farming, they’d turned to other professions to support themselves, and many had taken jobs outside their community. Selling food, crafts, furniture, and the like to tourists had become an important source of income.

Meg didn’t know how all the Amish felt about it, but some had obviously made their peace with it. If tourism brought in critical dollars, then Meg supposed they had to work with it, not against it.

The Lutzes’ solution combined farming with making food and other things to sell. They didn’t sell directly to the public but to shops and bakeries. The store where they dropped off the apple pies clearly catered to tourists. When they’d arrived, the owner was locking the front door, closing for the night. Jonathan, Amanda, and Lizzie brought the pies in through a back door while Meg roamed the store aisles, perusing an array of crafts. Amid a seeming ocean of goods, she paused to examine colorful place mats and napkins, candles, dried-flower arrangements, the summer straw hats worn by Amish men, and small, soft faceless dolls in Amish dress. She grew hungry just reading the labels on the endless packages of homemade food, everything from apple butter and pickles to candy and chutneys.

By the time they got back to the Lutz farm, everyone was assembling in the kitchen for supper. Meg let herself be carried away on the gentle wave of quiet goodwill at the supper table and the sight of all the activity in the room afterward. While she cleaned up with the other women, the young cousins from next door and several children she hadn’t seen joined the Lutz children for the evening. Lizzie and Will even sat in on some board games, while Sam made Christmas cards with Aaron and Rachel near a crackling fire.

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