“It seems like a nice place to paint,” Naomi said.
“Jah, it’s nice to just work on the painting and then leave it there with my drawings. At home, I have to stop and put everything away. At the shop, I just clean up the paint and brushes.”
Naomi seemed surprised. “You can just leave everything on the table?”
“Jah, Diane likes having it there as a work in progress. People ask questions and then she can show them the other work I do. I showed her the design for the bakery sign and she really liked it.” Marianna hadn’t had a chance to tell Naomi her good news. “She’s going to add a note about special orders, so if people want a specific design or color they can request it.”
“Gut. I had no idea how well this would all work out. You are such a huge help at the bakery.”
“Me too. I’ve been wanting more time to paint. Now I get six hours of painting done each week just at the shop.”
“I’m glad it has worked out so well. Daniel said that with your help we were able to serve twice as many people at lunchtime. The week before we would have people in line but they would leave because the line was so long.” Naomi smiled. “This week people didn’t leave because the line was moving so fast.”
“That’s great. I was already glad to help. Now I’m glad that I’m helping bring in more business too.” Marianna was glad for Naomi as well. She knew Naomi had been concerned about the future of the bakery. “So how is Daniel?”
“What do you mean?” Naomi asked her. “You saw him today.”
Marianna sighed. “I guess I meant, how are you and Daniel doing?”
“Ach.” Naomi’s face had turned red. “Daniel is great, and I’m great. We are all great.”
“That’s great!” Marianna teased her.
“Okay, my turn to ask questions,” Naomi replied quickly.
“Alright,” Marianna said hesitantly.
“What do you think about Joshua Yoder?”
It was Marianna’s face that turned red this time. “Joshua?”
“Jah, Joshua.” Naomi prompted her.
“Joshua is just fine. He is very sweet and caring. I’ve enjoyed talking to him this week. We’ve come up with quite a few ideas for his new delivery service.”
Marianna had been thinking about Joshua a lot in recent days. He had been so nice to her, but it was more than that. Everyone else assumed she needed help all of the time, whereas Joshua assumed she could do it and then offered his help when she needed it. His confidence in her made her feel good about herself.
“He is definitely a hard worker; smart too,” Naomi agreed.
“Jah.”
“There he is.” They had turned down the path to the Yoder’s farm. Joshua was standing near the barn and came up to meet them.
“Joshua, gut to see you,” Naomi said. “Lucinda told us to come over and help her figure out the party.”
“She’s inside.” He motioned towards the house. “Go on in.”
Naomi and Marianna walked up the steps and crossed the porch to the front door. Naomi opened the door. “Lucinda, hello!”
Lucinda was in the kitchen. “Naomi, I think I have a great idea.” She came around the corner and saw Marianna and her face fell, but she recovered quickly, although Marianna still felt embarrassed and out of place.
All of the joy that she had felt talking to Naomi on the way over slipped away. This was a mistake. She turned around and went back out to the porch. It probably wasn’t very polite of her but she was going to go back home. She was in such a rush to leave that her shoe slipped off the second step and she tumbled to the ground.
Joshua was in front of the house and rushed towards her. “Marianna, are you okay?”
“Jah. I just tripped,” she said. “I’m going to go back home.”
Joshua had started to ask her a question when Naomi appeared on the front porch.
“Marianna, where did you go?” Naomi looked concerned.
“I’m going to go home,” Marianna replied. “You’ll be fine planning without me.”
Naomi glanced at Lucinda.
“But you just got here.”
Joshua spoke up. “I think Marianna may need to rest a little. She didn’t want to say anything but she stumbled a little earlier. It would probably be best if she went home.”
Marianna was so thankful for Joshua. Here he was again stepping in to take care of her. “Jah, I would like to rest.”
“Are you sure?” Naomi asked. “Do you want me to come home too?”
“Nee, I’m fine.”
“You go ahead and plan. I’ll make sure she gets home,” Joshua assured them.
Naomi and Lucinda went back into the house and Marianna turned to him. “Danke.”
* * *
Chapter 5
“If you want to go back home I would be happy to walk with you,” Joshua offered.
“Jah, I would like that.”
“You seem upset.” Joshua could tell she was upset and he didn’t really think it was from the fall she took earlier. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Jah, really, I’m fine.” She was looking at the ground in front of her. “I want to work on the sign for the bakery.”
Joshua didn’t want to press her about what was bothering her, so he changed the subject. “How is it going?”
She seemed grateful to talk about something else. “Better. I drew the letters in pencil. Next, I need to outline them and paint them.” Hopefully I can work on it tonight.”
“Are you going to bring it in to work on at the gift shop?” he asked her. “I’d love to see how it is going.”
“Nee. I’ll finish it at home.” She sighed. “I don’t know if I’m going to work at the bakery any longer.”
“What? Why not!?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just don’t think I fit in. Most of the days I’ve worked there I’ve had the feeling that everyone was waiting for me to leave so that they could talk to each other.”
Joshua winced. He had seen his sister and Elizabeth do that several times because they were talking about the party. “I’m sure that it just seemed that way. You’ve known most of these people for a long time. They aren’t the type of people to be intentionally mean.”
Marianna sighed. “I know, and I shouldn’t complain, but it’s just so uncomfortable.”
“Don’t worry about complaining. It’s how you feel.” He shrugged. “You can’t help that.”
She didn’t say anything and he had a feeling he knew why.
“Are you leaving because of Lucinda?” He knew his sister was terrible at keeping a secret.
“Nee.” Marianna answered him quickly.
Joshua had a feeling she wasn’t being entirely honest. “Are you sure? She’s been acting strangely this week. If she has said anything to you, please don’t take it to heart.”
Marianna nodded, but said nothing.
“Do me a favor and give the bakery another week. After all, it wouldn’t be fair to Daniel; he expects you to be there to help with lunch. Please, at least give him the opportunity to find someone else to help with the lunch rush.”
Marianna had been quiet for so long he didn’t think she would respond. “I didn’t think about that. I’ll stay another week.”
“Gut.”
They walked in silence for a bit. They were almost at the path that led to her house. It probably wasn’t the right time, but he hoped he could take her mind off her worries.
“Would you like to go for a buggy ride tomorrow before dinner?” He held his breath waiting for her response.
He watched her face and the emotions that seemed to flit across before she spoke.
“I would like to, but I shouldn’t.” Marianna said. “I need to stay home and finish painting the sign for the bakery.”
Joshua looked at her for a moment and then said, “maybe another time then.”
Without hesitation she smiled and said, “jah. I would like that.”
They reached
the front porch. “Have a gut night.”
“You too.”
He nodded to her.“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Joshua, danke. I appreciate you listening to me.” She smiled and then rushed up the steps and into the house.
He started walking back toward the road. There was part of him that was a little upset that Marianna had declined his invitation, but he reminded himself that she had agreed to go another time, and that made him feel much better.
He was glad that he had talked Marianna into staying at the bakery for at least another week. It had been hard for him to hear her talk about feeling a little left out this past week. He was fairly sure that she would be feeling much better after the party. On his walk back home, he thought about talking to Lucinda and Naomi about what Marianna had said but decided against it. Instead he decided that he would point out that they were both acting strangely and that he thought Marianna had left because they were making her feel awkward.
* * *
Marianna had been working on the sign ever since Joshua had walked her home. The letters had been outlined and then filled in with paint.
She leaned over to mark the points for the sunburst along the edge of the circle but she was having a hard time concentrating. Her mind kept going back to Joshua’s invitation to go on a drive with him. It had been difficult for her to say no; she enjoyed spending time with him and wanted to go very much. He was probably just being nice, but she would love to be courted by him. Her heart fluttered just thinking about him possibly liking her in that way.
But as much as Marianna wanted to spend time with Joshua, she felt it would be best if she focused on taking care of the house and her father. Part of her wished that she hadn’t overheard Naomi’s part of the conversation in the bakery office. More than anything she wanted to go straight to her father and ask him what he was suffering from or if she could help him in any way.
She put down her pencil and looked into the kitchen. Her father sat at the table reading the Farmer’s Almanac. He didn’t know that she had overheard the conversation…she could walk in and ask him right now. She started to get up and then hesitated. For some reason, he didn’t want her to know though, and if she asked him, she would be forcing him to talk to her. Or lie. How would she feel if he lied to protect her?
With a shake of her head, Marianna sat back down and picked up the pencil again. It was better if she just acted as if everything was just fine. Her father had been through enough in recent years and he didn’t need to add worrying about her to his list. She looked up again and saw him pick up his coffee cup and look inside. He looked towards the stove but set the cup back down.
Marianna put the pencil down again and stood up. She slowly blew out a breath and walked into the kitchen.
“I think it’s time to take a break,” she said walking past the kitchen table.
Her father smiled at her. “Jah, you’ve been in there for almost three hours. How is it coming along?”
“The lettering is all done.” Marianna made a face. “Well, once the paint dries, the lettering will be all done.”
“Gut.” He set his book down. “When do you think you’ll have it finished?”
She put the pot of coffee on the stove to heat up. “My plan is to sketch the rest of the design in pencil tonight and then paint a little the next few nights. As long as everything goes well and I don’t have any problems, I should be able to bring it in Friday morning.”
“Gut. I can drive you into town on Friday morning,” he offered.
She frowned. He didn’t normally go into town so often. “Why are you going into town?”
He picked up his book and turned some pages. “I have an appointment.”
Marianna realized this was an opportunity to ask her father some questions. “An appointment? Where?”
“Hmm?” he asked, distracted. “In town.”
Exasperated, she asked, “where in town, Daed?”
He picked up his coffee cup only to put it down again when he realized it was still empty. “I need to stop at the buggy repair shop and some other places.”
As she suspected, he wasn’t going to tell her anything. Marianna picked his coffee cup up off the table and took it to the stove to refill it. “Here you go, all refilled, Daed. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will. Danke, Marianna,” he said, then went back to reading.
Marianna sat back at her table and picked up the pencil. She could only guess that he had an appointment at the doctor’s office in town. Once again, she wished her father hadn’t wanted for her to know what was going on. Hopefully, Naomi would be going with him Friday morning.
Taking a deep breath, she focused on drawing the design into the circle, ignoring the pain that was eating inside her. Crying wouldn’t help and it would only leave her feeling exhausted and empty. As in all things, she knew that she should turn to God and prayer because only He could help.
Gott, please take care of Daed and help me to stay strong for him. Please guide us and keep us. Amen.
* * *
Chapter 6
“Marianna! I put the bakery sign in the buggy,” Marianna’s father called from the living room. “We can leave whenever you’re ready.”
“Jah, I’m coming,” she called, and rushed to join him at the front door.
“Do you have everything?”
“Jah.
It was a beautiful morning; there was a cool breeze blowing and the sun was shining. She was trying to appreciate the good things around her. The week had been better at the bakery and the whispering from the week before had all but disappeared. Marianna was glad that she had listened to Joshua and stayed on at the bakery. If nothing else, she had enjoyed painting in the mornings at the gift shop.
They had just turned onto the road toward town when her father said, “you’ll have to get a ride with Joshua this afternoon. I’m not sure when I’ll be done with my, uh…appointments.”
“Jah, if I see Joshua, I’ll ask him.” She looked off to the side of the road. “If not, I can walk home.”
“Naomi said you’ll be going to the spring party this afternoon.”
“Jah. I can walk to the Yoder’s if I go.” Marianna hadn’t decided if she would be going. She still felt a little strange around everyone.
Her father looked over at her, concerned. “What do you mean, if you go?”
She shrugged. “I might stay home. I can get more painting done.”
“The sign is done. Your other painting can wait. You should go to the party and spend some time with your friends.”
“I’ll think about it,” she promised.
They pulled into town a few minutes later and her father parked the buggy in the carriage shed.
“Do you need help getting the sign to the bakery?”
“Nee, but I appreciate you asking. I’m going to take it to the gift shop first.” She smiled at her father. “I want Diane to see it.”
“She’ll like it. You did a great job,” he said as he handed her the sign.
“Danke. I’ll be at the gift shop or bakery today if you need me.”
Her father gave her a strange look. “Alright. Have a gut day.”
Marianna watched him walk into the buggy repair shop. She stood there momentarily before she headed towards the gift shop. She opened the door and poked her head in. “Hi Diane, would you mind helping me for a moment?”
“Of course not.” Diane hurried to the door. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” Marianna picked up the sign. “I couldn’t carry the sign and open the door.”
“Oh! Bring it in. I’d love to see it.” Diane opened the door wide.
Marianna moved through the door and put the sign on the counter.
“Marianna, this is incredible. This is better than my sign and I paid professional sign makers to make mine.”
“Thank you. I hope Daniel likes it as much as you do.”
“Oh, I guarantee that he
will. What does Naomi think?”
Marianna looked sheepish. “She hasn’t seen it. I wanted it to be a surprise for her too.”
“They are both going to love it.”
“Thank you. Well, I just wanted to show you quickly before I take it over to the bakery.”
She was halfway across the square when she stopped to readjust the sign under her arm. Joshua had just come out of the coffee shop, probably making the morning delivery for the bakery. He caught up with her in the middle of the square.
“Here, I can take that,” he said, reaching for the sign.
“Danke.”
He stopped and held out the sign. “I’m impressed. I knew it would look good but this is fantastic.”
“You really think so?” Marianna hadn’t meant to ask, and she was surprised about how much she cared about his answer.
“Jah. It’s going to look great up on the bakery.” He flipped the sign over. “You even put hangers on it?”
“My daed helped me. I wanted Daniel to be able to hang it up right away.”
“That’s really nice of you to take that extra step,” he said.
After a moment she looked away, and said, “I suppose I should take it over for Daniel to see.”
“Let’s hang it up on the wall.”
“What?”
I’ll take the older sign down and we’ll hang this one up and we’ll bring Daniel out to see it.”
“I…don’t know.” Marianna wasn’t sure if she liked that idea. What if Daniel didn’t like the sign?
“Let’s try it out.” Joshua hopped up onto the low planter wall and carefully removed the previous sign. He set that one down and grabbed the new sign and hung it up. He took a step back. “What do you think?”
Marianna was genuinely surprised at how nice the sign looked hung up next to the front door. “I like it,” she admitted.
“Great! You stay here. I’ll go get Daniel.”
“What is so important that you needed to drag me out of the kitchen?” Daniel teased as Joshua literally pushed him out the door.
“Marianna brought you something.” Joshua waved his hand toward Marianna.
AMISH ROMANCE: The Amish Bakery Boxed Set: 4-Book Clean Inspirational Box Set - Includes Bonus Book Page 7