Sarasota Dreams

by Mayne, Debby

  “But—”

  “You’ll do just fine. I’ll be right there with you to make sure you don’t make any mistakes.”

  Having someone to teach gave Ruthie confidence she didn’t know she possessed, even though she sensed something else going on with Rosemary. Papa had trusted her, and now she was happy to rise to the occasion. But she made a mental note to be cautious.

  After Papa came into the store, Ruthie and Rosemary spent the rest of the time going through the new catalogs and ordering merchandise. “Until you learn your way around here, it’s probably best to concentrate on reorders of what we know sells,” she explained. “Papa likes to add new merchandise, but he’s very careful about which vendors he chooses. Some of them aren’t as reputable as others, and we won’t carry merchandise that doesn’t fit what we believe.”

  Ruthie was happy to see that Rosemary paid close attention and asked questions. Occasionally she caught Rosemary giving her an odd look, but she didn’t mention it. Instead she found something else to explain.

  Dan Hostetler from one of the neighboring shops stopped by right before noon. “I saw the Polk boy come in here earlier,” he told Papa.

  Ruthie quickly stilled as she waited for Papa’s reaction. It was Rosemary, however, who broke into a coughing fit. “I’ll get you some water,” Ruthie offered.

  “Neh,” Rosemary said. “I’ll be fine.”

  Papa frowned at Rosemary before responding to Mr. Hostetler. “I didn’t know the Polk boy was here, but that is fine by me. Did you have anything else to say about it?”

  “No,” Mr. Hostetler said, shaking his head while staring at Ruthie through narrowed eyes. “I just thought you needed to know since you weren’t in the store at the time.”

  “He can come in here anytime the store is open,” Papa said. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Mr. Hostetler mumbled a few words about evil trying to infiltrate the church before leaving. Ruthie noticed Papa’s jaw tightening.

  Ruthie wished Rosemary wouldn’t stare at her. She felt as though Rosemary was judging her.

  Papa went back to the office, leaving the women on the sales floor. Ruthie decided to explain stock rotation and other merchandising concepts since they were still so slow.

  After a half hour, Ruthie had taught her everything she knew about merchandising. Rosemary still looked puzzled.

  “Is there anything you still don’t understand?” Ruthie asked.

  “One thing,” Rosemary said. “Is it always this slow around here?”

  “No, it’s just that way early in the week and during the times between our tourist seasons.”

  “When are the tourist seasons?” Rosemary asked.

  “Holidays are generally busy. We see a lot of older people during the winter, and then families come when their children get out of school in the summertime.”

  Rosemary nodded. “I guess you probably don’t have many customers who are from Sarasota.”

  “Actually we have quite a few. Some people like to buy Florida souvenirs for family and friends up north.”

  Ruthie hadn’t realized how much she knew about her family’s business until Rosemary asked all those questions. The extra confidence boost made her feel good.

  “I have one more question,” Rosemary said softly.

  Fully expecting it to be about business, Ruthie looked at Rosemary.

  “What’s that?”

  “Why are you courting that Polk man? My uncle says he’s not Mennonite, and if he has anything to do with it, he and his family won’t be allowed to join the church.”

  For a shy girl, Rosemary sure did know how to produce a shock. Ruthie felt her blood rush as she tried to think of an answer. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Fortunately Papa walked up and took over.

  “All done here?” he asked. Instead of waiting for an answer, he gave a clipped nod toward the door. “You can go on home now, Rosemary. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  He folded his arms and waited for Rosemary to get her bag. As soon as she left, he turned to Ruthie. “How long has she been talking about the Polks?”

  “Not long,” Ruthie replied. “She just asked—”

  “I heard what she asked,” Papa said. “She has no business coming into our store and talking to you like that.”

  “She surprised me.”

  “Next time she says anything about her uncle’s opinion of the Polk family, tell me right away so I can deal with it. I would have said something this time, but I wanted to find out what you’d already told her first.”

  Ruthie swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay, Papa.”

  Fortunately the summer semester was a short one. Charles didn’t think he could last much longer in the classes that had ceased to hold his interest a long time ago. He studied hard during the next couple of weeks to get good grades, in case he ever decided to go back to school.

  When he first mentioned his desires to Abe, he was surprised at Abe’s reaction. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret. I agree with your father. Finish the semester and make sure you do it on good terms. You may decide to finish your education, and getting low grades will make it more difficult to come back.”

  “Would you consider hiring me full-time?” Charles asked. “I mean, I like the work, and we could use the mon—”

  “Ya, I need more labor. I will switch you to full-time as soon as you finish this semester.” The pleased look on Abe’s face overshadowed his stern voice.

  Charles wanted to jump for joy, but he tamped down his excitement as much as he could. “Thanks, Abe.”

  The rest of the afternoon Charles had more energy than ever. Pop walked up to him and laughed. “I want some of whatever you ate for lunch. You’re working circles around the rest of us.”

  “I don’t want Abe to regret offering me full-time work after this semester,” Charles said without bothering to hide his smile.

  “Good job, Son. I never dreamed you and I would be working together, let alone doing farm labor.”

  “The Lord is amazing, isn’t He?”

  Pop took a long look at Charles before placing his hand on his shoulder. “Yes, He is amazing, but we still have quite a few hurdles.”

  “That’s only because we’re dealing with imperfect people,” Charles reminded him. “Too bad others aren’t as understanding as Abe.”

  “Most of them are open to our joining the church,” Pop said.

  “Do you think that the minority can keep us out?”

  Pop shook his head. “I don’t know, but one thing I’m certain of is that the Lord knows what’s in our hearts. If we aren’t allowed into this church, we are to ask for guidance and direction.” He glanced up and pointed. “Here comes Abe.”

  “I’ve been thinking about asking Abe for advice on how to handle the people who are trying to keep us out.”

  “No, let’s not do that yet, Charles. There’s no point in creating controversy among his friends.”

  “Shouldn’t we at least tell him what’s going on?”

  “He probably already knows.” Pop lifted a hand and waved to Abe. “Looks like we’re right on schedule,” he called out.

  “Ya. You are both doing a fine job. I have a good crew.”

  Charles felt pride swell in his chest before remembering the One to thank. He silently sent up a prayer, and when he opened his eyes, he noticed Abe watching him.

  “Finished with your prayer?” Abe said.

  Charles nodded, both Abe and Pop looking at him. “I sure wish I could come tomorrow, but I still have classes.”

  “How much longer before this semester is over?” Abe asked.

  “Three more weeks.”

  “Good. You’ll be done in time to work full-time on the fall harvest and get ready for the citrus. Jeremiah said that if you finish early he can use you over at his place.”

  Charles and Pop both liked working for Jeremiah, who was just as fair as Abe. Jeremiah’s wife, Shelley, was working on getting their ne
w house in order before the baby arrived. Charles occasionally wondered how difficult it had been for Jeremiah to transition back to the simple Mennonite life after being out in the world for several years.

  “Looks like David’s here.” Abe shielded his eyes against the late-afternoon sun and pointed toward the shell-covered driveway. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jonathan.” He turned and walked back toward the house.

  The instant the Polk driveway was in sight, Charles saw Pop frown. “The garage door is open.” They got closer and the frown turned to a look of worry. “Looks like your mother is home early today. That’s odd.”

  “I’m sure everything is okay, Pop. She probably finished work and got sent home. Mom said they’ve been cutting hours.”

  David pulled into the driveway and stopped. “I’ll be here first thing in the morning, Jonathan. Call if you need me before then.”

  Charles and Pop got out and made it halfway up the walk when the door flew open and Mom came running out, tears streaming down her cheeks. Pop pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her, leaving Charles standing there looking on.

  “What happened, Lori?” Pop asked.

  “They had to let a bunch of people go.” She dabbed at her tear-stained cheeks with a wadded tissue. “What are we gonna do, Jonathan? You and Charles aren’t making nearly enough to support us. We have to get this house ready to sell.”

  Pop’s worry lines deepened, but he didn’t let it come through in his voice. “We’ll figure out something. Right now let’s go inside and pray about it.”

  In the past, prayer would have been an afterthought. Pop gently helped Mom to the sofa, and he sat down next to her. Charles took the chair adjacent to them. Between sniffles, Mom told Charles and Pop how her boss had taken her and several of her coworkers to lunch. She knew something wasn’t right because they’d discontinued company-funded lunches during cutbacks.

  “Did he tell you before or after you ate?” Pop asked.

  Mom gave him a curious look. “Afterward. Why?”

  Pop shrugged. “At least he let you enjoy the food.”

  Her chin quivered. “Now what am I supposed to do? It’s hard to get a job in these times.”

  Charles remembered meeting someone new at the Kauffmans’ shop. “Maybe you can ask someone at church. Some of the businesses around Pinecraft seem to be doing just fine.”

  “All I know is office work,” she said.

  Pop pulled her to her feet. “We can ask around. I’m sure we’ll be just fine. Take a few days and try to calm down a bit before you start looking.”

  The following Sunday, Ruthie went to church with her parents, determined not to get in the position of being alone with Charles. It was too risky now that she’d been with him and knew how he could make her feel.

  Mother was the first to notice Mrs. Polk standing alone, looking forlorn. “She’s usually such a happy person. Let’s go check on her.” Before Ruthie had a chance to say a word, Mother had made a beeline to Charles’s mother.

  Ruthie started to follow, but Charles stepped from out of nowhere and into her path. “Can we talk for a minute?”

  “Um …” Ruthie cut her glance over toward her mother who had Mrs. Polk cornered. They were deep in conversation. “I guess that’s okay.”

  “My family needs your prayers. Mom lost her job last week. Dad and I are both working, but without Mom’s paycheck, I’m not sure how we’ll pay our bills.”

  Prayer. That much she could do. “Of course I’ll pray for your family.”

  “I offered to quit school so I could get more hours right away, but Pop and Abe still don’t want me to drop out.”

  “I’m sure they have a good reason.” Ruthie couldn’t even pretend to understand the stress of having to pay bills. She wasn’t even twenty yet, and she’d always lived with her parents, who’d always lived a frugal lifestyle.

  “We want to sell the house and get out from under all our debt, but it’s hard with all the bills we’ve incurred.”

  “I can imagine.” But she really couldn’t. She glanced over toward Mr. Polk, who was deep in conversation with Abe by the church door. “I’ll pray for your family,” she repeated, “but now I need to get settled in for church.”

  Charles pursed his lips and stepped to the side. “Yes, of course. Maybe we can talk later?”

  “Maybe.” She scurried toward a pew near where Mother still stood with Mrs. Polk. A few minutes later the two women joined her.

  Mother leaned over and whispered, “Lori lost her job last week.”

  “I know,” Ruthie said. “Charles just told me.”

  “I’m going to ask around and see if anyone is hiring. All she knows how to do is paperwork, but she’s young enough to learn something new.” Mother stared straight ahead for a few seconds before turning back to Ruthie with her eyebrows raised. “I wonder if your papa would want to hire her for the store.”

  “He just hired Rosemary, remember?”

  “Oh that’s right. I’m not so sure he’s all that pleased with Rosemary, but I don’t think he will ever send her away without a good, solid reason.”

  Ruthie agreed with a nod. “Rosemary doesn’t seem to mind working in the back, but she’s not happy about helping customers.”

  Mother grimaced. “That’s one of the things she’ll need to change if she wants to continue working in retail.”

  Ruthie wondered if Papa had told Mother what he’d overheard Rosemary say. He’d always been a man of his word, no matter what—even when angry—so Mother was right about him keeping Rosemary employed.

  Charles thought the semester would never end, but the day of his final exams finally arrived. Abe gave him an extra day off to study, so he had no excuse not to do well. After he finished the last exam, he felt light on his feet as he walked across campus toward the bus stop.

  He couldn’t wait to start working full-time for Abe, and now that he was free from school—at least for now—he’d be able to do that the following week. Mom was even more stressed over losing her job. She’d taken a few days off at Pop’s insistence, but now she went out every morning and applied at all the companies where she thought she was qualified to work. Charles noticed that she started out with hope, but as time went on without a nibble, her spirit had started to fade.

  As he waited at the bus stop, he said a silent prayer for Mom—not only that she’d find work, but that her mood would be lifted. Mom had always been one of the most positive people he’d ever known, so this was a side of her he’d never seen. Even when she and Pop had started worrying about paying bills, they at least had hope for a breakthrough. Seeing her beaten down broke his heart.

  No one was home when Charles arrived, so he went around the house and did some straightening up. He still had some pent-up energy left, so he vacuumed, ran the dishwasher, and when the dishes were clean, unloaded it. Then he thought it might be nice to start supper. He wasn’t a great cook, but he could put together a basic meal. Their stock in the pantry had slowly diminished over time, making meal planning difficult.

  Charles had a few dollars in his pocket, but they lived too far from a grocery store to walk. He thought about how easy life would be if they were in a community such as Pinecraft, where he could walk almost anywhere he wanted to go.

  He took one more look in the pantry and decided to make a chicken casserole with the condensed cream soup, the small amount of rice in the container, and some chicken thighs he saw in the freezer. Pop had brought home some green beans and tomatoes from Abe’s farm, so he could prepare a full meal.

  Pop got home first. He walked in the door, sniffed the air, and shot Charles a puzzled look. “I didn’t see the car. Is your mom home?”

  “No, I started supper.”

  “Good for you.” Pop washed his hands at the kitchen sink. “I hope this is a good sign for your mother. She’s determined to find something even though I told her to try not to stress over it so much.”

  “I know but she’s always worke
d.”

  Pop tightened his lips and nodded. “That’s another thing I wish we’d done differently. When we first got married, she said she wanted to be a full-time mother to our children as long as they remained at home, but there were so many things we wanted, it became impossible after a while.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Pop. You both did what you thought was right, and I turned out just fine.”

  Pop stepped closer to Charles and placed his hand on his shoulder. “You sure did, Son. I’m very proud of you.”

  Mom arrived home a few minutes before it was time to remove the casserole from the oven. For the first time in weeks, she beamed.

  “Good news! I finally found a job.” She cleared her throat before adding, “It’s not exactly what I’m qualified to do, but it’s something I should be able to learn fairly quickly.”

  “Are you gonna keep us in suspense all night?” Pop asked.

  She grinned as she glanced back and forth between Charles and Pop. “Joseph Penner hired me to work the breakfast shift.”

  “Breakfast shift? As in waiting tables?” Pop asked. His jaw fell slack.

  “Yep. I never thought I’d be this excited about working in a restaurant, but on a whim I decided to ask if he knew of any job openings. Apparently Shelley and Jeremiah are getting ready to move out to their farm, and it will be difficult for her to stay at the restaurant. She agreed to stay long enough to train me.”

  “Mom, that’s wonderful,” Charles said as he closed the distance between them for a hug. “Mr. Penner seems like a fair man.”

  “The salary isn’t great, but Jocelyn said the tips are the best she’s ever gotten. Apparently they have a mix of regular customers and tourists, so I’ll never be bored.”

  Pop remained standing in the same spot, staring at Mom with a neutral expression. Charles couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  “Say something, Jonathan,” Mom said. “You’re not upset, are you?”

  He shook his head. “Not upset, but are you sure you want to do this? Waiting tables is hard work.”