The Amish Baker

by Marie E. Bast

  Sarah made the last loaf of bread and set it to rise. She grabbed a wet cloth and tidied up her work area. After pushing the utensils to the side, she scooted to the pantry and lugged enough ingredients to the table for six dozen sugar cookies.

  Jacob would arrive soon, and she didn’t have time to talk or show him what to do. She barely had enough time to get ready to open.

  What had she gotten herself into by accepting Caleb’s offer for the small bu to help...and on a Saturday? Sarah hurried to the front and unlocked the door for Jacob but left the sign on the window turned to Closed.

  She’d dirtied almost every pan in the bakery, so maybe Jacob could wash dishes. When he finished with that, they’d figure it out. She’d been meaning to hire extra help but hadn’t had time to advertise or interview.

  She glanced at the dirty pans in the sink. It would save time if she had clean cookie sheets. She could fetch the spares she’d stored on the top shelf of the built-in cupboard. They were reserved for large orders, like a wedding, but an emergency should warrant the hassle it took to get them down.

  Sarah opened the cupboard doors, pulled the step stool over and climbed up. She wasn’t quite tall enough for her fingers to touch the shelf next to the ceiling. She stretched. Almost there...but not quite.

  Sarah braced a hand on the cupboard and rose to her tiptoes. The pans remained a couple of inches from her grasp. If she stood on the stool’s back support, it would give her the boost she needed. She stepped onto the vinyl-covered back and reached for the pans. The stool rocked this way and that way. She flung her arms out, trying to grab hold of the shelf, but missed. She reached for the cupboard door to steady her footing. The stool wiggled, toppled to the right and tossed her straight into a pair of waiting arms and a hard chest.

  Arms flailing, she screamed and clutched at his shirt. Her heart galloped against her ribs while she tried to calm down. She gulped a breath.

  He dipped his head and his beard tickled her face. Sarah peered up into sage-green eyes and a beaming smile that reached all the way to the corners of his eyes. For once, her brain and tongue failed her simultaneously.

  “You could have gotten hurt.” Caleb raised his brow, as if waiting for her reply.

  A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “Danki. You can put me down now.” His nearness had created a wild thumping in her chest. When her feet touched the floor, she drew a deep breath and glanced up into his face.

  His eyes locked with hers. “Can I trust you to stay on your feet this time?”

  She nodded and pulled away from his gaze, trying to calm her runaway heart and snag back her fraying nerves. “Of course. Danki for your concern and your help.”

  Stepping back to regain her composure, she straightened her dress. Then she placed her hands on her prayer kapp to make sure it was still secure. She moved it slightly and felt confident of its placement.

  Sarah relaxed her shoulders. “Hannah asked for the day off, which has left me to do all the baking, including an extra order for an Englisch woman.” She turned to Jacob. “What I’d really appreciate right now, if you don’t mind, is for you to wash some cookie sheets.”

  “We’ll hang our hats and Jacob will get started.” Caleb motioned to Jacob and pointed to the rack by the back door.

  Jacob stared at the heap of pans in the sink. Then plunked his hat on a hook, rolled up his sleeves and went to work. Sarah grabbed a towel from the drawer, wrapped it around Jacob’s waist and tied it. “This will help protect your clothing.”

  Caleb raised an eyebrow in a questioning look. “I have some errands to run later. I’ll wait out front for a little while to see if you have anything you need me to do, like reaching for something.”

  “Danki for the thought, but I won’t be getting on the stool again.”

  “I didn’t mean just that. I could carry a heavy flour sack and refill the bin.” The look on his face appeared to be dead serious, except his twitching lips betrayed a suppressed grin.

  She flashed him a wry smile. “Danki, but we’re good for now.”

  Sarah stole a peek at his back as Caleb returned to the front of the bakery. She touched her hand to her heart and blew out a long breath. How was she ever going to get through the day with him only a few feet away? She clutched the rolling pin to steady her hands.

  After she finished the baking, she loaded the cart with cooled pastries, pushed it to the front and transferred them to the display case. Her cheeks warmed as she sensed Caleb’s eyes following her every move. “Would you like a cup of coffee and a roll?”

  While he ate and read the Amish newspaper, The Budget, she continued her morning preparations. When the first customers arrived, Caleb threw his cup away and left to run his errands.

  Sarah peered through the doorway at Jacob washing pans and a lump wedged in her throat. It was nice of him to help, even if it was his daed’s idea. The pan he was scrubbing looked shiny and clean. He was a hard worker and eager to please. “Customers have come in, so I’ll be out front most of the time.”

  Jacob nodded. “Okay.”

  While she waited on customers, Jacob pushed the cart out front with sheets of cooled cookies and rolls to replenish the display case. He wiped off the tables, greeted the customers and took dirty dishes to the kitchen without her asking.

  When the noontime crowd had disappeared, Sarah was famished. “Now is our slow period, Jacob. How about a peanut butter sandwich and cookie?”

  “Okay.”

  Sarah laid the sandwiches and cookies on plates while Jacob poured himself a glass of milk. They sat at a table by the window and ate in silence as they watched people walk by. She’d often wondered what it would have been like to have a kind. At night she sometimes dreamed about one, then woke drenched in tears. Jacob seemed like the perfect little bu. He was helpful, sweet and friendly to her customers. It had only been one day but he had already burrowed into her heart, and she didn’t want to let him go. Ever.

  She swallowed hard. That was a selfish thing to think. Forgive me, Lord.

  “Danki, Jacob, for spending the day. You are a gut worker, and I really appreciate your help. In fact, I was so busy that I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “I’ll come back next Saturday.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure one day’s worth of work is enough to pay for the walnut bears.”

  The doorbell jingled.

  “But I want to help you.” He glanced up at her, his eyes stealing her heart.

  She scooted her chair back so she could go wait on the customer. “I can’t ask your daed to bring you to town again. That would be an imposition. He must be busy and probably needs you at home.”

  “Please let me help?”

  Caleb stepped closer to the table. “You want to what?”

  Sarah jerked her head around, surprised to hear Caleb’s voice.

  “I want to work at the bakery another day to pay my obligation.”

  “Okay, I’ll bring you to Kalona next Saturday.”

  “Caleb, I hate to ask you to do that. Jacob was here all morning and worked hard. It’s unfair to ask him to come another day.”

  He looked at Jacob and then at Sarah. “This is the most enthusiastic I’ve seen him in a year. I have some business in town, so it’s no imposition.”

  She mulled over his offer for a minute. “Danki, Caleb.”

  Jacob flashed her a smile, grabbed his hat and followed his daed out the door.

  Her heart thrived on the small bu and already ached for him. Saturday, she’d get to see them both again.

  * * *

  Caleb turned Snowball into the driveway and headed toward the barn. He couldn’t understand the change in the bu. Jacob had whistled almost the whole way home.

  “Daed, I liked working at the bakery. Sarah said I did a gut job.” When the buggy stopped, Jacob hopped
out. “I’ll start chores.”

  He stared after his sohn. What had gotten into him? Perhaps he had eaten too many cookies today and the sugar was giving him a burst of energy.

  While he led Snowball to a stall, an image of Sarah fought its way back into his mind. He tried to forget about her smile, about how her small frame had felt in his arms, about how her hair had smelled of peach blossoms. But he couldn’t do it.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  She was a widow. Did she mention that so he’d know? Nein. He was sure that was not possible. She only mentioned it because her ehemann had made her the bears. Yet a small part of him wanted to think that she wanted him to know.

  All week long, Jacob stayed in a gut mood. He did all his chores on time and without one complaint. He cleaned his room without Caleb having to ask. In fact, he never saw the bu sitting once, only at mealtime and in the evenings. Amazing!

  At 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, Caleb knocked on Jacob’s bedroom door to wake him for chores, and he was surprised to find him dressed and ready to help with the milking. Usually he had to pry the bu out of bed. Evidently Jacob was smitten with something at the bakery. Caleb ran a hand through his hair. But what?

  The work? Hard to believe.

  Sarah? He wouldn’t be interested in girls at his age. Yet he did believe Jacob still missed his mamm. Sarah had praised the bu for doing a gut job, as Martha often had. Maybe he needed to do that more, as well.

  Jacob helped hitch Snowball to the buggy, then was the first one to hop in the buggy. The closer Snowball got to town, the faster he trotted and the faster he got his treat of oats.

  Caleb’s heart rate also increased the closer they got to Kalona. He rubbed his sweaty palms across his thighs. It was too soon for him to think about a frau.

  * * *

  Sarah couldn’t resist a smile when the bakery door opened. “Gut mornin’, Jacob. Ready to work again?”

  He nodded. “Daed had errands to do and will stop back later.”

  “Gut.” Sarah swiped her hands together to dust the flour off and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “This is Hannah Ropp. She works with me in the bakery.”

  “Nice to meet you, Jacob.” Hannah smiled. “So, you’re going to spend your Saturday with us? Datt is wunderbaar. We can certainly use the help around here.”

  “Nice to meet you, Hannah.” He hung his hat, rolled up his sleeves and dug in to the dirty pans stacked in the sink.

  “A man of few words—I like datt,” Hannah teased.

  Sarah finished making the apple pie, sprinkled the top with cinnamon and sugar and then set it in the oven beside the other three pies. She glanced at Jacob, who was busy scrubbing the jelly roll pan. “Jacob, what would you like to do when you grow up? Farm like your daed?”

  “Be a baker like you.”

  Sarah paused. She hadn’t expected that. “Jah?” She turned toward Jacob. “You could come and work with Hannah and me. We’d like that, wouldn’t we, Hannah?”

  “Of course we would.” She laughed.

  “My daed was a baker, Jacob. This was his bakery. I worked here every day after school, helping him.” Sarah finished kneading the dough, set the mound of wheat bread into a pan, covered it and set it off to the side to rise.

  “After Mamm died, the bakery was the place Daed, my brother Turner and I worked together as a family. After Daed and my husband, Samuel, died, the bakery, Hannah and our customers became my family. Turner took over Daed’s woodworking shop. Now he’s too busy to stop by much.”

  “I didn’t think I’d seen Turner in here lately.” Hannah tossed her a curious look.

  “Jah. He usually stopped in for a roll and coffee a couple of times a week, but not lately. Maybe he had extra woodworking orders with summer and the Englischers’ wedding season close.”

  Jacob finished washing pans, swept the floors and then trotted to the front and wiped off tables. He laughed with Sarah and Hannah when a lull in customers permitted it.

  Sarah snatched little glances of Jacob as he worked. He was a wunderbaar little bu, and she enjoyed his company. “Jacob, did your mamm bake you cookies?”

  “Jah, Mamm was a gut baker. She made all kinds of cookies and pies. On my birthday, she’d make me a cake. She made a quilt for my bed. It had squares on it and each one had a different-shaped leaf made out of autumn-colored fabric. When I was sick one time, she sat up all night beside my bed.” His voice cracked and he wiped a tear from his cheek.

  Sarah’s heart wept as she sensed Jacob missed his mamm and craved the attention of a mother figure. She had experienced that before when other kinner in her church had lost a parent. Perhaps she could fill the void for Jacob in some way.

  Maybe his daed didn’t see Jacob’s need to confide in a woman. On the other hand, maybe he did and that was the reason why he agreed to bring Jacob to work with her in the bakery.

  Late morning, Caleb pushed open the bakery door, and Sarah met him at the counter. “Would you like a cookie and a cup of coffee before you head home?”

  “Datt would be nice. Would you sit with me at a table for a few minutes?”

  “Jah. I have a little time. Especially now since I have two good workers in the bakery.” She said it in a voice a bit louder than normal and glanced over her shoulder at Jacob to see if he had heard.

  She caught the little smile pulling at the corners of Jacob’s mouth as he tried to hold it back.

  Her heart stuttered at Caleb’s nearness. She handed him a cookie on a plate, poured two cups of coffee and then followed him to a table. When she sat, her gaze met his. His sage-green eyes held hers as tightly as his two strong arms had last Saturday. A rush of warmth flooded her cheeks as she remembered that moment.

  “I hope Jacob helped some. He’s a small bu and has his limitations.”

  “Jacob is a fabulous worker. He washed pans, mopped the floor, cleaned tables, loaded trays on the cart and pushed it out front. He’s a great help and strong, too. Does he do a lot of work at home?”

  “His sister, Mary, who’s thirteen, does the housework. Jacob works outside, mostly in the garden. When he gets older, he’ll farm with me.”

  “I see. Is that what he wants to do?”

  “What boy doesn’t want to work alongside his daed?” Caleb’s smile reflected a fatherly elation.

  “Jah, indeed, but sometimes kinner want to go their own way and try something new.”

  Brushing off the temptation to enlighten him that Jacob preferred the bakery to farming, she sipped her coffee and held her tongue. It wasn’t her place to do so, and besides Jacob could change his mind. It might just be a novelty for him to work in a bakery. Something different than cleaning a dirty barn.

  Jacob and Hannah both let out a laugh.

  “I haven’t heard him laugh since his mamm died. It’s doing him gut to come and work here.”

  “Hannah and I enjoyed having him.” She turned and faced the kitchen. “Jacob, your daed is here for you.”

  Jacob strolled to the front of the bakery and stopped at the end of the table.

  “I heard you worked hard for Sarah. Are you ready to go home?” Caleb stood and picked up his hat.

  Jacob’s eyes sparkled. “Nein. I’d like to stay and live with Sarah at the bakery and work for her. She asked me to.”

  Shocked, Sarah looked at Caleb’s face. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped. She turned her gaze back to Jacob. Had she heard him correctly?

  She stood and faced Caleb to explain. But his complexion had turned ashen and his hat slipped from his hands and dropped to the floor.

  Chapter Four

  Still reeling from Jacob’s announcement that he wanted to live with her, Sarah pressed a hand to her chest. Without saying a word, Caleb retrieved his hat from the floor. He straightened and glanced at her, his eyes dewy like the forest during a heav
y mist.

  The bell jingled as the bakery door pushed open and an elderly couple entered. Hannah rushed to greet the customers, nodding to Sarah and indicating she had this. Sarah blew out a breath. She didn’t want to delay this conversation.

  Caleb’s skin above his whiskered cheeks had turned cherry-red. His six-foot stature seemed shorter as his shoulders slumped with the weight of his sohn’s brutal words. The man’s eyes reflected his world crumbling like a day-old cookie.

  Sarah drew a sharp breath and prepared to deal with what she had started. “Let’s sit a minute.”

  Since the tables were empty, she motioned toward the corner table so customers wouldn’t overhear their conversation. It also gave her a second longer to decide how to explain this misunderstanding to Caleb. He probably believed she had meddled in his life.

  The late-afternoon sun and heat streamed through the window, intensifying her discomfort. She blotted the moisture clinging to her neck with her hand as the guys slid behind the table.

  Sarah leaned behind Jacob and pulled the cord on the blind, her mind racing about how to approach the subject. She scooted out the chair directly opposite from Caleb and sat.

  How was she going to explain that his sohn would rather work in the bakery than on the farm? Not something an Amish man wanted to hear, or probably any man, if he had his heart set on it. She swiped her palms on her apron as she directed her attention across the table.

  Caleb glanced down and raised his forearms to the table with his calloused, weathered-roughened hands outstretched in front of him. He sucked in a loud breath and cut his eyes to his bu.

  Jacob sat next to Caleb, acting as if he were unaware of the impact his words had had on his daed. The bu’s small body scooted up next to the table, with only the tops of his shoulders and head visible above the table.