Through It All

Chapter 5

After enjoying a snowball fight with Herr Konrad and his boys, Ernest and the cobbler warmed themselves at the hearth.

"How did you find your wife, Bruder Schneider?," asked Ernest.

"Why do you ask? Do you have a special girl in mind?"

Ernest began to turn crimson and stammered, "No, nobody in particular."

The cobbler chuckled and said, "Just teasing. I was once your age, so I understand. Ingrid, Ernest wants to know how we met. That question takes us back a ways, doesn't it?"

"It sure does!" Frau Schneider smiled in remembrance as she kneaded the bread dough.

"Well, my family started going to her church when we were both just a few years old and were playmates. But then she began playing with the girls and I with the boys. We didn't really know each other very well.

Then everyone our age started to grow like a weed, first the girls and then the boys. Everyone except me, that is. Only one sister was my height. My other two sisters and brother were all taller than me. Short jokes abounded and it was all in fun, I knew. But all the same, I didn't feel comfortable with any girl much taller than me. But there was shy Ingrid off by herself. Not only was she only a couple inches taller than me, but she smiled at all my lame jokes."

Glancing over to see Ingrid cover the dough with a towel to let it rise, Herr Konrad said, "And you still laugh at my lame jokes." Their eyes met and she smiled.

The cobbler turned back to face Ernest. "Even more important, Ingrid loved the Lord and loved to talk Bible. We spent a lot of time talking and praying together. We wanted to make sure God's best plan for each of us was to be together. It was very hard for Ingrid to agree to leave her family to go out into the unknown. We understood our purpose in life and God's will for each of our lives must match.

Then came the even tougher part. I had to go ask her papa's permission to marry his only daughter, his baby girl . . . and then take her far away."

Tears welling up in her eyes, Frau Ingrid turned away and gazed into space toward the pictures Godfrey and Ansel were drawing. Herr Konrad stepped to her side. Hugging her close, he murmurred, "I miss our families and friends back home, too. Maybe the Lord will make a way for us to go back soon, even if just for a short time."

The snap of falling embers drew the cobbler's and his apprentice's attention to the fire. Staring into the crackling fire, the two paused momentarily.

Then Herr Schneider spoke. "How about we review one more time? . . . Genesis 1?"

"Creation. Chapter 2 talks about the Garden of Eden. Chapter 3 tells how sin entered the world. Chapter 4- The first murder. . ."

"Very good, Ernest! You're memorizing the chapter topics of Genesis well."

Ernest beamed. "Thanks, but I also have a good teacher."

"Speaking of teaching, it looks like you're almost done with those boots. Let's see how that boot is coming along . . . Hmm. . . The stitches are perfectly spaced, the wood is nailed properly. You're almost done scraping off the excess wood. Now if we look at the matching boot, . . . it looks a little different here and here. So if you smooth out these edges to match, you'll be done."

The cobbler returned to his stitches and Ernest scraped a little more. Then he picked up the other boot and compared them.

"What do you think?, asked Ernest, showing the rounded edges.

"That's a fine looking pair of boots! Go ahead and see how they fit!"

The apprentice excitedly knelt down to untie his old boots and try on the new. "I still can't believe you let me make a pair for myself first!"

Chuckling, Herr Konrad Schneider said, "I couldn't have my apprentice be seen needing boots. Besides once they learn you made them, my customers will know you can do quality work as well. . . But this also means . . . I will expect this same quality of work with every single shoe or boot you make from now on. Nothing less than your best . . . Understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good! So let's get started on some more. How about you make another boot of a little bigger size?"

"Sure!" Ernest accepted the previously cut leather pieces and chose the correct shoe form. He lightly tapped on a temporary nail to hold the soft leather insole to the bottom of the shoe form. Then Ernest stretched the firm leather around the top, pressing it to the toe of insole. Then he poked a couple holes with the awl and stitched and poked another evenly as he had been taught, stitching the main part of the boot to the sole.

The cobbler said, "I'd like to have quite a few more boots and shoes already finished for when Spring comes. Shortly after field planting is finished, I'd like to take you with me on my rounds to surrounding villages. Some of the townspeople will be needing me to mend their old boots and shoes, or will need new after the harsh winter we've had."

"I think I'll enjoy going with you! How often would we go?", asked Ernest.

"I normally go out once a week to a village. The other days, I work on orders or make extras. I go back a week or two later when the shoe orders are finished. Once I have been to all the villages in the area and supplied their needs, I don't normally make the rounds again until right after harvest. That's when I get overwhelmed with work! So that's why we'll need to work hard to get as many pairs of various sizes made as possible before harvest."

The cobbler arose to add more logs to the fire, stirring up a flurry of sparks.

Ernest examined his new boots, turning to view each angle. Herr Konrad winked as their eyes met. Ernest gave him a wide smile and resumed his stitching with a contented sigh.