He stammered. “Sarah, would you like to attend Sunday school again with me sometime?”
“Jah. I look forward to going.”
Chapter Fifteen
The bakery door opened, interrupting Sarah’s scrubbing of the display case. Ach, it was almost closing and the few remaining baked goods were in the cooler. She raised her shoulders and gasped when she saw her brother. “Turner, why the serious face? Something wrong?”
“Come sit with me. I need to talk to you.” He scrubbed his hands over his face before facing Sarah. “I hate to do this.”
“What is it?” She sensed something dreadful had happened. “Is it Aent Emma?” She’d already had one heart attack.
He leaned forward in his chair, shook his head solemnly, braced his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers together under his chin.
“Is this about Caleb Brenneman?” Fear seized her heart.
“Nein.” Turner dropped both hands so they hit the table palms down and made a loud thud. “Sarah, I’ve sold the bakery, all the contents and the name. I’ve signed the purchase agreement and will sign final papers next week, in the lawyer’s office.”
Her mouth dropped open, and a loud cry escaped before her hand covered her mouth. A cold numbness slowly consumed her body.
When the shock subsided, she lowered her hand. “I can’t believe you sold the bakery out from under me.” Sweat clung to her palms.
“I didn’t want to. But Naomi is pregnant and the apartment above the woodworking shop is dusty, noisy and no place to raise a boppli. The money from the sale of the bakery will go toward building a house. This old bakery and structure won’t bring much, probably just enough to build a small, modest haus.”
“Then why sell it when you know it means so much to me? I have to support myself. You’re putting me out on the street.”
“I thought you and Ezra Smith were getting married. People saw you at the fair together. You missed your chance with Alvin.”
“Unbelievable,” Sarah snapped at him. “Do you liebe Naomi?”
“Of course I do. What does that have to do with this?”
“You and Naomi are madly in liebe with each other. But you thought I should marry Alvin, a man I dislike, and take care of him, his haus and his six kinner.”
“You would have grown to liebe him like Mamm and Daed. Theirs was an arranged marriage.”
She gasped. “How long do I have before I have to move out?”
“You have thirty days from next Monday.”
“Is he buying all of the ovens and the pans that Mamm and Daed originally had in the bakery?”
“Jah. You should have them and the shop all cleaned by his possession date.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m moving.” She pushed her chair away from the table, her eyes averted from Turner, and stomped to the door. “Danki for giving me notice, Turner. Now please leave. I have a lot of thinking, planning and packing to do.”
“Listen, Sarah.” He made his way to the front door. “Don’t be so huffy. It’s time you remarried anyway.”
“You don’t have the right to tell me when to get remarried and neither does the bishop. Was this his idea?”
“Of course not. He had nothing to do with this. Our faith requires that a woman think about her family, church and community before herself.”
“Danki for the reminder. I know the sacrifice women must make, Turner. I’ll tell you right now, I’m not marrying a man I don’t liebe or care for just to have a roof over my head. Please leave. I have things to do.”
She locked the door, turned out the lights in the front and made her wobbly legs carry her to the back of the bakery. Hannah stood in the middle of the kitchen floor, her mouth open and tears rolling down her cheeks. Sarah rushed into her friend’s waiting arms.
Hannah rubbed her back soothingly. “What are you going to do? You can come and stay at our farm. Mamm and Daed would love to have you.”
Sarah stepped back and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I need to think about it. I’m going to be open for a couple more days to say goodbye to our customers. They have been faithful, and I want to thank them. Go home, Hannah. We’ll talk tomorrow. I’m exhausted and my heart is ripped in two. I can’t even think right now.”
The pity in Hannah’s eyes sliced through her every bit as much as Turner’s words. Sarah was grateful that he had let her live here and operate the bakery as long as she had. She just hadn’t prepared herself for the day he exercised his right to sell.
Wandering throughout the bakery, Sarah swiped her hand across the stove, touched the counters and cabinets. She caressed the Best Bakery wall plaque with her fingertips. Daed had received it from the town for giving away baked goods to charity. Sarah remembered all the fun her family had had here. Not just work, but laughing and talking about the future. Her chest swelled with pain.
Since she was a small girl, she’d watched her parents work in the bakery. The recipes never existed on paper, to avoid theft. They’d taught Sarah each recipe, and she had tucked them away in her memory. The Amish Sweet Delights bakery was a favorite tourist attraction in the Kalona area. Now all that her parents had worked for was gone.
She tried to drink in all the memories. How had the new owner seen inside the bakery? Had he come in and bought something? Turner had a key. He must have let him in when she’d closed for the night. Would Turner have done that?
Jah, he must have.
She crossed her arms in front of her and stared out the window, into the darkening sky, into the unknown. What did Daed constantly quip when she’d fallen and skinned a knee? Buck up, you’re tougher than that, tochter.
Nein home and nein prospect of a job kept spinning around in her head. She had some money saved up. Turner hadn’t charged her rent, so her savings had grown into a tidy sum, and she had money from the sale of her and Samuel’s small haus.
The queasiness in her stomach overwhelmed her for a moment. Maybe she’d hook up King and take a drive in the country to clear her head.
She knew the Amish custom—girls married, the older boys were given money to start a business and the youngest boy inherited the property. In her family’s case, Turner had been the only sohn. She just never thought he’d sell the bakery out from under her. Not Mamm and Daed’s bakery. The bakery was part of her soul like a family homestead.
It was hard to believe that her bruder actually expected her to marry someone she didn’t liebe.
Sarah drew in a deep breath, locked the back door and trudged up the stairs to her apartment. To make a plan...for her future.
After Daed’s death, she unquestioningly took over managing the bakery. She wandered over to her sitting room window, laid her hand over the back of Daed’s rocker and gave it a push. He often rocked in the chair when he had a problem to ponder. She smoothed the back of her skirt as she sat in the chair.
What was she going to do? There was an empty building in Kalona, next to the Knit ’n’ Sew shop. She could call the Realtor and ask to walk through it. To open a new shop in town meant competing with her old bakery. Since Amish Sweet Delights was in the Kalona tourism guide, they would get most of the tourist business. The town only redid the guidebooks every few years. Could she even compete with Amish Sweet Delights? She usually talked to Turner when she had a problem. Not this time.
She changed into a fresh dress, hitched King to her buggy and headed for the country. To clear her mind and, like Daed would say, reseed. She had to move on, figure out where to go, what to do next...for the rest of her life.
* * *
Caleb opened the door. “What a delightful surprise, Sarah. Come in.”
“Nein. Would you mind coming out and sitting on your porch so we can talk privately?”
He closed the door and escorted her to the porch swing he’d made. “Something wrong?”
She filled him in on Turner’s visit and the sale of the bakery. “Turner had the right,” she emphasized. Her voice broke twice but she made it through telling him about their conversation.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “What are your plans? Where will you live?”
“Hannah said I could stay with her and her folks.”
“You’re a wunderbaar baker. You could work for someone else, maybe even the new owner.”
“Nein. I won’t do that.”
“Okay. I understand. Rent a shop or buy a building and start a new bakery?”
“If I opened a regular bakery, the commercial ovens each would cost between five and twenty thousand. I would also need a cooler and display case.” Her hands fidgeted in her lap and pulled at a loose thread in the hem of her apron. “Guess I’m scared of failing.”
“Everyone loves your baking.”
“Jah, but I’d have to compete with Amish Sweet Delights. Turner sold the name, along with the bakery and its contents. Therefore, my bakery reputation will not follow me. My local customers may come back. Tourism creates a huge boost to sales. But the tourists visit the bakery listed in the tour books and brochures. The town only updates and reprints the tourism books every few years.”
He turned toward her as much as he could in the swing. “I can help you hunt for a haus or shop and lend you money.”
“Danki. But I don’t need your money. I just wanted to get out of the bakery and think. We’re open Monday and Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. I want to say goodbye to our loyal customers.”
“If you start your own business, I know you’ll succeed.” He covered her hand with his and squeezed.
“Danki for the encouragement.” A weak smile tugged at her mouth.
Caleb couldn’t imagine a bruder doing that to his unmarried sister, even if he did have the right. He couldn’t ask Sarah to marry him. At least not yet.
Something about this woman brought out his protective nature. But what else could he do to help Sarah?
* * *
Sarah gazed out over Caleb’s farm and drew a deep breath. She’d bared her soul to this man. He was a sweetheart to listen while she unloaded her burden. His encouragement, his strength and his confidence seeped through her. Uplifted her.
She hoped he hadn’t judged Turner. He was her bruder, and she would liebe him according to Gott’s will. She understood that property went to the youngest male of the family. The bakery was his to do with as he wished. She would not harbor ill thoughts of him.
Caleb was a safe refuge while Gott was letting her wander. She blotted a tear in the corner of her eye with her fingertip. Like Moses in the desert, she had to figure out what Gott’s will was for her life.
“What do you think you will do?” She could sense Caleb measuring his words. Was an idea going through his head? Maybe a marriage proposal. Nein, he wasn’t ready for a commitment yet.
“I’m thinking about renting a haus in Kalona and putting in a home bakery. I reviewed the laws, and it is fortunate that I live in Iowa. It is one of the few states that allow home bakeries. I’m just limited to the amount the home bakery can earn. Still, I can gauge if I’ll get enough business to open a bakery here in town.” She rested her head on Caleb’s arm, lying over the back of the swing.
Caleb tapped her arm. “What would you call a new bakery?”
She leveled her gaze at him and tried to smile. The idea appealed to her the more she talked about it. “I hadn’t really thought about it—maybe Sweet Daed’s.”
“I like it.” His sage-green eyes sparkled as he nodded.
They swung back and forth in silence a few minutes. Her heart swelled with liebe and appreciation for Caleb. He was a gut soul mate, with a listening ear. He sprinkled in just the right amount of advice and sweetened it with encouragement. His arm wrapped her in warmth, while his strength penetrated deep into her heart and spirit.
She let out a long sigh. It’s in Gott’s hands. He apparently has a new direction for my life. Straightening her back, she lifted her chin. After the shock of Samuel’s death and Turner selling the bakery, she had never been more ready to get on with her life than now.
Chapter Sixteen
Monday dawned with a brilliant sun forcing its way through angry gray clouds. Sarah took that as an encouraging reminder from Gott that He can do great things. She wiped the bakery’s chalkboard clean and wrote a notice along with the daily special.
Bakery sold. New owner to take over Amish Sweet Delights on September 1. Today through Wednesday, FREE coffee with the purchase of any one item.
She unlocked the door and flipped the sign to Open.
Within minutes, the first customer entered and stood in front of the sign. “I’ll miss your bakery, and my husband will miss your cinnamon rolls. He takes one every day to work and eats it on break.”
“Danki. I’m sad about leaving, but Turner owned the bakery and decided to sell.”
Later in the morning, she overheard a couple of jean-clad customers grumbling about Turner selling the shop out from under her. Jah, the gossip had started. She pretended not to hear but could detect the mood in the bakery had turned somber.
She pasted on a smile. By noon, it became harder to mask her breaking heart. When the doorbell jingled, Caleb’s gaze met hers. His wink of encouragement and his smiling face boosted her morale and warmed her spirit.
Jacob followed close behind his daed and hugged her with tear-filled eyes. “Daed said you sold the bakery and this was your last week. I can’t come to see you anymore or work for you?” His voice quivered.
“Of course you can. I just won’t be here, in this shop. When I move, I will need your help.”
“Where will you be?”
She glanced up and noticed the patrons at the tables were watching her and undoubtedly listening to their conversation. “I’ll let you know when I move. I have a surprise for you,” she whispered. “You can have anything in the bakery. It’s on the house.”
“What does that mean?” he whispered back.
“It’s free because you are my special friend. Your daed can have a free cup of coffee if he buys something.” She glanced at Caleb.
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a special friend?”
She smiled.
* * *
Caleb pointed to a cinnamon roll. “How are you doing? Have you made plans yet?”
Sarah pulled the roll out of the case, placed it on a plate and poured his coffee. “Jah. I’ll spend the next week here cleaning and getting it ready for the new owner. After that, I’m moving into a haus I’ve rented here in town and will start a small bakery. The drawback is a home bakery can only earn twenty thousand dollars a year.” She flashed him a broad smile. “I was hoping you’d help me move.”
“Jah, just let me know when.”
She squared her shoulders. “There’s a peace in me that Gott is leading me down a different road and into a new chapter of my life. Strangely, when I updated the bakery chalkboard this morning, a thread of excitement wove through my veins about this new journey. I’m actually getting anxious to see where His Spirit leads me. I thought Gott had abandoned me. But maybe He waited until He’d softened my heart and curbed my stubbornness before I could take the next step in my life.”
A little guilt tugged at his gut. After Sarah settled into her haus, he needed to approach her about changing to New Order. Now she had enough dealing with the bakery. He didn’t want to upset her with another big change. Not just yet, anyway.
* * *
Sarah waited on everyone in line at the counter. When she snagged a break, she wandered to the tables with the carafe of coffee, refilled cups and sat by Jacob and Caleb for a minute.
Jacob threw his arms around Sarah. “Don’t move too far away, please. I will miss you too much.” Moisture pooled in the corner of his eye.
>
Sarah held him tightly. It was her worst fear that she’d have to leave Jacob when she couldn’t find a vacant shop. “I’m renting a haus in Kalona so I’ll be nearby,” she whispered. His body stopped trembling. He relaxed his shoulders and blinked back a tear.
“Can I help you pack?” His tiny voice quivered.
“Of course. Hannah and I could use your strong arms.”
Jacob held his right arm up, bent it at the elbow and flexed his bicep.
“Wow,” Hannah gasped as she approached from the kitchen door. “You are strong.”
Jacob laughed and nodded as he put his arm down. “I do a lot of farm work.”
“I have some business in town on Saturday. I’ll drop Jacob off in the morning,” Caleb offered.
When the doorbell sprung to life, she headed back to the counter, and Caleb and Jacob waved on their way out the door. A pang of sadness squeezed Sarah’s chest as they walked out of the Amish Sweet Delights bakery for the last time.
Tuesday was double the business of Monday. Every chance Sarah had, she ran back to the kitchen and helped Hannah with the baking.
Wednesday tugged on her heart—her last day to have the bakery. Tears blurred her vision for the whole eight hours. “Hannah, the past three days we’ve had more business than we’ve generally have in six days. There hasn’t been this much business since Daed was alive.”
Hannah nodded in agreement. “It feels like your daed died all over again.”
“Jah. It touches my soul to witness how the community appreciated the bakery.” She had helped Hannah bake all day to keep up with sales.
At 5:00 p.m., Sarah closed the front door, locked it and flipped the sign for the last time. A chill swept over her.
Her parents’ legacy...gone.
Her dream...gone.
Tears ran down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. She reached for the counter to steady her step. Hannah ran from the back of the bakery, wrapped her arms around Sarah, and held her until she quit sobbing and shaking.
“I’m okay, Hannah. Danki for being my friend and helping me all these years.”
The Amish Baker Page 13