Fannie gasped and grabbed hold of Abraham’s arm. “You fooled me good on this one.”
He laughed. “The reason I didn’t want to go around back is because all the buggies are parked out there.”
Fannie looked at all the smiling faces that had come to her party: family members and friends alike. She placed her hands against her hot cheeks. “This is just wunderbaar, and I was so surprised.”
“We have another surprise for you,” Naomi said, moving closer to Fannie. She pointed to the kitchen.
Fannie’s son Harold; his wife, Lena; and their three children entered the living room.
Tears welled in Fannie’s eyes as she stepped forward to greet them. “I can’t believe you came all the way from Ohio just for my birthday.”
“We wanted to surprise you,” Harold said, “and we wouldn’t have missed your party for anything.”
After Fannie hugged her son and his family, Naomi stepped up to her and said, “There’s one more surprise waiting for you in the kitchen.”
Just then, the kitchen door swung open, and Titus stepped into the room. “Happy birthday, Mom,” he said with a big grin.
“Titus! It’s so good to see you!” Fannie’s voice caught on a sob as she rushed across the room and gave him a hug. This was, without a doubt, the best birthday she’d had in some time.
The look of delight on Mom’s face made Titus even more glad that he’d come home for her party. It felt good to see all his brothers and sisters again, too.
At Naomi’s suggestion, everyone moved outdoors, where tables and chairs had been set up in the buggy shed. Several of the women had brought food to share for the meal, and Abby had made a large birthday cake.
“It’s sure good to see you,” Samuel said, thumping Titus’s back. “Since you’ve been gone, it’s been kind of quiet when we have family get-togethers. Some of us even miss all those pranks you used to play.”
“If you miss me so much, then you ought to come to Kentucky for a visit,” Titus said.
“I’ve been thinking about that.”
Timothy came up to them, wearing a smile that stretched ear to ear. “I’m sure glad you’re here. Seems like old times having the whole family together again.” He clasped Titus’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“How’s it going with you?” Titus asked.
“Okay. Hannah’s doing much better now, and it makes me feel good to see her smiling again.” Timothy motioned to his wife, who stood across the room, talking to Elsie.
“I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy for you either,” Titus said.
“No, it wasn’t, but Hannah took it much harder.”
“Women are more emotional than men,” Samuel added, “which means they usually take things harder.”
Titus glanced to his left and noticed Phoebe’s mother talking to Mom. If Phoebe hadn’t gone to California, and the two of them had still been together, she would have probably been here tonight, too. Titus knew Phoebe’s mother had been friends with Mom for a good many years, but seeing Arie and Phoebe’s dad, Noah, made it difficult not to think about Phoebe and what might have been. Would he ever get her out of his system? Could he forget what she’d done to him? Was he ready to begin a serious relationship with Esther? So many questions raced through his head, but he had answers for none.
Pembroke, Kentucky
Shortly after Suzanne entered the Beilers’ store, she noticed Esther cleaning some shelves near the back of the building. “Wie geht’s?” she asked, stepping up to her.
Esther smiled. “I’m doing okay. How about you?”
Suzanne sighed. “I’d be doing better if Mom would come home. It’s getting harder to keep up with all the things that are expected of me, and now that Titus is gone, too, we won’t have his help with any of our chores for the next few days.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Suzanne motioned to the shelves Esther had been cleaning. “I don’t see how you can help me when you’re busy working here.”
“I’m not always busy in the store, and I’d be happy to help you after I get off work.” Esther leaned against the shelf. “I could come by your place after I get done at Titus’s place this evening.”
Suzanne quirked an eyebrow. “How come you’ve been going over there?”
“To feed his cats. I told him I’d do that while he’s in Pennsylvania.”
“What do you mean, ‘cats’? Callie’s the only cat I know Titus has.”
“Callie had kittens. Didn’t Titus tell you?”
Suzanne shook her head.
“Maybe he forgot. Or maybe he didn’t think it was important.”
“That’s probably more to the point. I’ll bet he was upset when Callie had kittens. I’m surprised he didn’t haul her and the kittens over to our place.”
“You don’t like Titus very much, do you?”
“I don’t dislike him, but he does irritate me sometimes.”
“I think he’s really a nice person, and even though we don’t seem to have a lot in common, I hope he doesn’t decide to stay in Pennsylvania.”
“I’m sure he does have his good points, and I doubt he’ll stay in Pennsylvania. He seems happy working in the woodshop with Nelson.” Suzanne turned aside. “Guess I’d better get what I came for and head home. I’m sure everyone’s getting hungry by now, and I need to get something going for supper.”
As Suzanne directed her horse and buggy toward home, she thought about Titus and wondered if he was serious about Esther. I hope I wasn’t wrong when I told her that I didn’t think Titus would stay in Pennsylvania. Maybe after seeing his family again he’ll change his mind about living here.
Suzanne smiled. If Titus were to stay in Pennsylvania, Grandpa would have to find someone to take Titus’s place in the woodshop. Maybe then I could convince Grandpa to let me work there. I may not be as fast as Titus, but I think I could do most of the things he does, and probably just as well.
Suzanne’s thoughts were halted when she spotted a beige-colored horse running down the road in front of her, with only a lead rope around its neck. The poor thing was lathered up pretty good and acted like it didn’t know where it was going.
Suddenly, it turned and trotted along the edge of the road, smacking into the branch of a tree.
A scream tore from Suzanne’s throat as the horse then veered to the right and rammed into the side of her buggy.
CHAPTER 27
Suzanne gripped the reins tighter, guiding Dixie to the left, hoping to get out of the way of the crazy runaway horse. “Easy, Dixie. Easy, girl,” she coaxed.
Just then, the horse turned and sped past them again, this time going in the opposite direction. It raced along the center line for a while, then suddenly veered toward the shoulder of the road and darted into the woods.
“Whew!” Suzanne sighed with relief. She was glad the horse was off the road and hoped it would find its way home. “Thank You, Lord,” she whispered, “for keeping me and Dixie safe.”
Los Angeles, California
“Your cell phone’s ringing,” Darlene shouted to Phoebe.
“I’m getting ready to take a shower,” Phoebe called from the bathroom. “Can you answer it for me?” She didn’t want to be bothered with a phone call right now. She’d just gotten home from work and was hot and tired.
A few seconds later, Darlene rapped on the door. “It’s your mother. She wants to talk to you.” “Tell her I’ll call her back.”
“I told her that, but she insists on talking to you now. Said you haven’t returned any of her calls for the last two weeks and she’s worried about you.” Darlene knocked again. “I think you’d better talk to her, Phoebe. It’s not right to make your mother worry.”
“Oh, all right.” Phoebe slipped on her robe and opened the door.
Darlene handed her the phone. “Here you go.”
“Hi, Mom. How are you?” Phoebe said as she lifted the phone to her ear.
“I’m fine, but
I’ve been worried about you.”
“There’s no need to be worried. I’m doing just fine.” Phoebe twirled her bathrobe belt around her arm and stared at herself in the mirror. She wished Mom didn’t worry so much. She wished Mom and Dad would let her enjoy her independence.
“I’ve called you several times and left messages, but you never reply. What’s going on, Phoebe?” Mom’s voice sounded harsh and demanding, making Phoebe feel like a child.
“I’ve been busy,” she muttered.
“Too busy to call your mamm?”
Phoebe gave no reply. Just stepped into the bedroom and flopped onto her bed.
“Your daed and I went to Fannie’s surprise birthday party this evening,” Mom said.
Phoebe yawned. “That’s nice.”
“Can you guess who was there?”
“Probably Fannie’s family and friends.”
“That’s right, including Titus.”
Phoebe sucked in her breath and bolted upright. “You mean he gave up on his little adventure in Kentucky and moved back to Pennsylvania?”
“No, he just came for the party. He’ll be heading back to Kentucky before Monday, no doubt.”
“I see.”
“I also wanted you to know that Titus has a—”
“I really don’t care to hear anything more about Titus, and I was about to take a shower, so I’ve gotta go. Thanks for calling. Bye, Mom.”
Phoebe clicked off the phone and smacked her hand on the edge of the bed. Why’d Mom find it necessary to tell me about Titus being at Fannie’s party? Was she trying to make me wish I hadn’t left Pennsylvania so I could have been at the party? Well, whatever the case, it didn’t work. Even though things haven’t worked out perfectly for me here in California, I’m glad I moved. It’s better than having my folks tell me what to do all the time.
Paradise, Pennsylvania
“I’m so happy you could be here for my party tonight,” Mom said as she, Dad, and Titus sat in the living room after they’d come home from Naomi and Caleb’s. “I just wish you didn’t have to go back to Kentucky so soon.”
“I need to be there by Monday evening so I can be at work on Tuesday morning. Isaac Yoder was nice enough to let me have a few days off, but I don’t want to take advantage of his generosity.” Titus thumped the arm of his chair. “Besides, I’ve got a cat and a batch of kittens to look after now, not to mention my horse.”
Mom snickered. “With your dislike of cats? I can’t imagine!”
Titus frowned. “It’s not funny. I got stuck with a cat I didn’t ask for, and then she had kittens I really don’t want.”
“Who’s watching them while you’re gone?” Dad questioned.
“My friend Esther.”
“Isn’t she the one you took to the Jefferson Davis Monument?” Mom asked.
Titus nodded. “I’ve taken her for a couple of buggy rides,
too.”
Dad nudged Mom’s arm and grinned. “See, I told you, Fannie. Our son’s not only learning some responsibility, but he’s got himself a new girlfriend, too. I think moving away from home’s been good for him, don’t you?”
Deep wrinkles formed across Mom’s forehead. “I suppose, but he could have learned to be responsible if he’d stayed right here.”
“I don’t know about that,” Dad said. “Some young people do better when they’re out on their own.”
A rush of heat shot up the back of Titus’s neck. He didn’t like it when his folks talked about him like he wasn’t in the room. It made him feel like a child.
Titus had thought he might tell Mom and Dad about the money he’d found in the phone shanty, but decided against it, at least for now. If he mentioned it, Mom would probably make a big deal of it, and Dad would tell him how to spend the money.
Titus rose to his feet and turned toward the door leading upstairs.
“Where are you going?” Mom called.
“Think I’ll go to bed. It was a long bus ride to get here, and I’m tired.”
“So soon? But we haven’t had a chance to visit that much.” Mom patted the sofa cushion beside her. “Come, take a seat, and tell us about Kentucky.”
“We can talk to Titus tomorrow,” Dad said. “If he’s tired, then we ought to let him go on up to bed.”
Mom yawned. “Come to think of it, I’m pretty tired myself. I believe all the excitement of the party took its toll on my old body.”
“Mine, too.” Dad helped Mom to her feet. “When we get home from church tomorrow afternoon, we can spend the rest of the day visiting, and Titus can tell us all about Kentucky.” He smiled at Titus. “And we want to hear more about your new girlfriend. Maybe you can bring her here to meet us sometime.”
“Maybe so. We’ll have to see how it goes.”
“Is she nice? Has she got the skills it takes to be a good wife?” Mom asked.
Titus’s jaw clenched. “I’m not thinking about marriage right now, and I thought we were all going to bed.”
“You’re right.” She gave a small laugh.
Titus leaned down and hugged her; then he hurried up the stairs. He didn’t know if he’d ever feel serious enough about Esther to bring her to Pennsylvania, and if he did decide to get married, he hoped Mom wouldn’t pressure him to move back home.
CHAPTER 28
Pembroke, Kentucky
On Monday morning, Suzanne had just started washing the breakfast dishes when she heard a vehicle pull into the yard. She peered out the window and spotted a van parked outside. A few seconds later, Mom stepped out.
Suzanne dropped the sponge into the dishwater, dried her hands on a towel, and hurried out the back door. Grandpa, who’d been sitting on the porch in his favorite chair, smiled at her and said, “Looks like your mamm’s finally home.”
Suzanne nodded. “I’m ever so glad.” She met Mom on the lawn about the same time as Nelson stepped out of the woodshop.
Mom hugged them both. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course,” Suzanne said. “It’s good to have you home.”
“Most definitely.” Nelson grabbed Mom’s suitcase. “Here, let me carry that for you.”
“How’s Aunt Karen?” Suzanne asked as they walked toward the house.
“She’s getting along fairly well,” Mom replied. “Since my sister Mary’s helping her now, I felt like I could come home.” She smiled at Suzanne. “How are the kinner? Have they been good for you?”
“I’ve had no problems with any of them,” Suzanne said honestly. “They all pitched in and helped as much as they could.”
“That’s right.” Nelson nodded in agreement. “The only problem Suzanne had was fixing our meals.”
Suzanne jabbed her brother in the ribs. “Come on now. My cooking wasn’t that bad.”
“Never said it was. Just said you had a problem fixing our meals.”
“I didn’t have any big problems,” Suzanne said. “I just kept things simple, which helped a lot.”
“Didn’t any of the women from our community bring over some meals?” Mom asked as they stepped onto the porch.
“A few were brought in,” Grandpa said before Suzanne could respond. “The rest of our meals were mostly soup and sandwiches, and Suzanne did her best.” He looked up at her and winked.
Suzanne smiled. Grandpa always tried to see the bright side of things and look past her imperfections.
“How have things been going at the produce auction?” Mom asked Suzanne when they’d entered the house. “Have you sold much?”
“Things have been busy, and many people have stopped to buy our bedding plants and hanging baskets. I’m certain it’ll be just as busy in the fall when our mums are ready to sell.”
“I’m sure you’re right about that.” Mom looked over at Nelson. “How are things going for you and Titus in the woodshop?”
“Business is doing well, but Titus has been gone for a few days, so that’s put us a bit behind on some orders. He should be back sometime today and will be
at work tomorrow morning.”
“Where’d he go?” Mom asked, taking a seat in the living room.
“To Pennsylvania for his mamm’s surprise birthday party.” Nelson motioned to Mom’s suitcase. “Want me to take that to your room?”
She nodded. “Then I’ll let you get back to work. We can talk more later.”
[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey Page 18