Surprised by Love

by Kathleen Fuller

  The word jerk hung over him like one of the thick clouds in tonight’s sky. He’d never thought himself as a jerk. Practical, yes. Realistic? Of course. But a jerk? Had he really hurt the girls’ feelings that much, or was his mother being overdramatic, as she tended to be sometimes?

  He moved away from the window, undressed, and readied for bed. Before he pulled back his bedclothes, he kneeled on the floor, the urge to ask for forgiveness for his behavior overwhelming him. When he was finished, he got into bed. But it was still a long time before he fell asleep.

  True to his word, Reuben picked up Emily in a taxi the following afternoon. They went to her eye doctor and visited the optician, who said the glasses couldn’t be fixed.

  “You’ll have to get a new pair of frames,” she said, setting the glasses on the table.

  “I’ll take the same ones I had before.”

  “Let me see if we still have them.” She went to a display of frames, found the one she was looking for, and picked it up. Meanwhile Reuben was walking around the boutique, looking at all the different frames.

  The optician took the frames over to Emily. “Have you given any thought to getting thinner lenses?”

  Emily shook her head. “I’m fine with my same ones.”

  Reuben walked over as the optician said, “Thinner lenses would be more comfortable for you. The frames won’t be as heavy.”

  “They’re more expensive, though.”

  The optician sat at her computer and started typing. After a minute she wrote a number down on a small notepad, tore off the sheet, and handed it to her. “Here’s the price.”

  Emily’s eyes widened as she saw the number. She couldn’t see spending this amount of money on thinner lenses. Especially when she was saving for something special.

  “You also won’t have such a coke-bottle effect,” the optician added.

  “That’s okay.” Emily handed the paper back to her. “I’ll just have mei regular lenses.”

  “All right. Let me get the order started for you.” As she typed, Reuben pulled Emily aside.

  “Why don’t you get the thinner lenses?” he asked.

  “Because it seems frivolous to spend so much money when I can have a cheaper pair.”

  “But they would be more comfortable.”

  She looked up at him. Why would he care about her comfort? Yet he seemed sincere. “I can’t,” she said in a low voice.

  “Why not?”

  “Because,” she said, turning her back to the optician, “I’m saving money for a new telescope.”

  “Oh.”

  “I need to take some measurements,” the optician said.

  Emily sat across from her, and after the measurements the order was complete. It would take two weeks for the new glasses to arrive, since her prescription was so strong. “Can I do a little repair on your current glasses?” the optician said.

  Emily had forgotten about the unfortunate extra pair of glasses. She nodded and handed them to her, then sat back down, since she couldn’t see anything.

  “Look at this,” Reuben said, handing her a flyer.

  She brought it close to her face so she could read it. “A show at the planetarium?” she said, squinting as she looked at him.

  “Would you like to geh?”

  She continued to look at Reuben, unable to see his face clearly. Everything was a blur around her. “But it’s at five o’clock.”

  “Ya.”

  “The taxi will be here to pick us up soon.”

  “I can arrange for another ride.”

  His persistence surprised her. “You don’t have any plans tonight?”

  He shook his head. “I’m kind of interested in seeing this myself.”

  That surprised her too. She had no idea he was interested in astronomy. Her stomach fluttered as the optician came back. She put on the repaired glasses and looked in the mirror, suddenly self-conscious.

  “Is something wrong?” the optician asked.

  Emily scrutinized herself in the small mirror. Her glasses looked old and worn, but at least the tape was gone. “No, they’re fine.” And they were. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice anyway. She was more confused by the fact that it even bothered her.

  She turned to the optician. “Thank you for fixing them.”

  “You’re most welcome. You can check out up front.”

  After they finished and walked outside, Reuben said, “Well? Do you want to geh?”

  “Ya,” she said, her excitement at seeing a planetarium show overtaking her sudden shyness. “I do.”

  “Great.” They took a few steps away from the store before Reuben abruptly stopped. “Hold on,” he said, lifting one hand. Then he hurried back inside the optometrist’s office.

  Emily figured he was borrowing their phone to arrange another ride. She leaned against the building and watched several cars go by. After about fifteen minutes she started pacing in front of the store. It shouldn’t have taken him that long to schedule a taxi. Just as she was about to go inside and see what was keeping him, he came out of the store.

  “Sorry. That took longer than I thought.”

  “Is Terry picking us up later tonight?”

  His brow furrowed. “Huh?” Then he blinked and nodded. “Um, ya. She said she’d come back and pick us up from the show around six thirty.”

  “That’s nice of her. I hope she didn’t mind the extra trouble.”

  “She said she didn’t.” Another car whizzed past them.

  “The show doesn’t start for a couple hours,” Emily said. “What do you want to do in the meantime?”

  “We can grab a bite to eat. There’s a restaurant nearby I like. Bixby’s Café.”

  “I’ve never been there.”

  “They have great chili.” He paused. “If you like chili, that is.”

  “I do.”

  As they walked toward Bixby’s, which was a couple blocks away, they fell into easy conversation. She found out his favorite foods, favorite color, and other basic information. She would be well prepared if her mother asked her any more of these simple questions about him. In turn, she told him how much she liked French fries, hot dogs, and apple pie.

  “How American of you,” he said with a wink.

  She grinned. “I’m pretty simple.”

  He halted, his expression growing serious. “I wouldn’t say that about you.” He tilted his head. “I wouldn’t say that at all.”

  Before she could question him he started walking again. What did he mean by that? She was a simple woman, especially when it came to food. She hurried to catch up with him, and they didn’t say anything when he opened the door to Bixby’s for her.

  The café was small but busy. There was an empty booth in the back of the restaurant, and she followed him to it. When they sat, a waitress with short purple and black hair immediately appeared. “Hi, Reuben,” she said, setting down two glasses of water. “Haven’t seen you here lately.”

  “Been busy with the farm.”

  “And with someone else, I see.” She gave Emily a knowing smile and handed her a menu from underneath her arm. “Today’s lunch special is a chicken bacon wrap with fries. I assume you’ll have a bowl of chili?” she asked Reuben.

  “Ya.”

  Emily looked at him. He was subdued, something she’d never experienced. She glanced at the waitress again. She seemed nice, if a bit colorful. But Emily got the sense that Reuben was now uncomfortable, and she wasn’t sure why. “I’ll have a bowl of chili too,” she said, trying to break the tension. “I hear it’s really gut.”

  “It’s one of our best sellers. Anything to drink?” She scribbled their order on a pad.

  “Milk for me,” Emily said.

  “I’ll take an iced tea.”

  The waitress picked up the menus. “I’ll be back in a jiff.”

  After she left, Reuben said, “Sorry about that.”

  “About what?” Emily took a sip of water.

  “What Carly said. Ab
out me being busy with someone else.”

  Wait, were Reuben’s cheeks turning red? “I didn’t think anything about it.”

  He let out a long breath. “That’s gut.” But when he leaned back in the booth, he was still frowning. Then he looked at her. “Do you think I’m a jerk?”

  Emily’s eyebrows flew up. “What? Who called you a jerk?”

  “Believe it or not, mei mamm. Well, she didn’t call me a jerk, but she might as well have.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I think she might be right.”

  “She’s definitely not right.” Emily crossed her arms. “Why would she say something like that?”

  “Um, well . . .” He rubbed his neck again. “She wanted to be sure I didn’t break your heart.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because we’re dating? Because apparently that’s what I do to the maed I date.”

  “Oh.” She ran her finger along the edge of the red table. She didn’t have experience dating, or even understanding how to date. But she did know all about a broken heart. Which made her think of Wayne. And thinking of Wayne threatened to spoil what was turning into a lovely day, so she shoved him out of her thoughts.

  “Then it’s a gut thing we’re not dating,” she said, smiling. “Nee need to worry about mei heart.”

  “Right.”

  Carly appeared with their drinks and chili. They bowed their heads in silent prayer, then started to eat. After a few spoonfuls she said, “Yer right. This is gut.”

  “Not as gut as mei mamm’s, but close.” He took a sip of his tea. “Glad you like it.”

  While they ate they made more small talk, but in the back of her mind Emily couldn’t stop thinking about what Reuben had said. And this time instead of Wayne popping up in her mind, Deborah Yoder did. Stay away from Reuben. Emily hadn’t even known the two of them went out. She didn’t pay much attention to everyone else’s social life, and she had only gone to a couple of singings over the past few years, something her mother wasn’t happy about. “How are you going to find a husband if you don’t even look?” she’d said. And Emily had given her mother her standard answer. God would provide. She knew that in her heart.

  Yet despite Deborah’s warning—and Reuben’s mother’s own concerns—Emily didn’t see Reuben as a jerk. A jerk wouldn’t have saved her from the embarrassment of lying to her parents. He would have let her twist in the wind if that were the case.

  “Emily?”

  She blinked, his voice bringing her out of her thoughts. Her gaze landed on the freckle above his cheekbone, then moved to his multicolored eyes. Handsome eyes, like the rest of him. But good-looking didn’t mean well-mannered or kind, and Reuben was all of those. The flutter she’d felt in the optician’s office reappeared.

  “Uh, ya?”

  “You went quiet all of the sudden. Anything wrong?”

  She shook her head and scraped the last bit of chili out of the bowl. Without answering him she put it in her mouth, then took a drink of milk. “Done,” she said, pushing the bowl away.

  He tilted his head, something she noticed he was doing lately when he looked at her. Then he glanced at her empty bowl. “Do you want seconds?”

  “Nee, but I do want dessert.”

  “Two apple pies, coming up.”

  By the time they were finished with their meal, they had thirty minutes to get to the planetarium. As they walked outside, Emily said, “We should find a phone and get a taxi to take us to the show.”

  “Already done. The taxi will be here in a few minutes.”

  Emily was impressed that he’d thought of everything. “You’re definitely not a jerk,” she said softly.

  “Others would disagree.” He looked down at the ground and kicked a small stone on the sidewalk.

  “Reuben.” She took a step forward, forgetting she had no idea how to properly act around a man, that they were supposed to be dating even though she was clueless about relationships. All she was focused on was him. “Look at me.”

  He lifted his head, and she could see the disappointment in his eyes. He was being hard on himself for no reason.

  “You’re not a jerk.” She locked her eyes on his. “You’re the nicest man I’ve ever known.”

  CHAPTER 5

  When they arrived at the planetarium, Emily thought she had made a mistake. After she tried to reassure him, the taxi had pulled up. He hadn’t said a word, or even looked at her, on the ride over. When they got out of the car, he paid the driver and went to the ticket counter, still quiet. She rushed her steps to catch up with him. Had she said something wrong? Had she been too close to him when she spoke? She must have done something.

  Reuben pulled out his wallet. “Two tickets,” he said.

  “I can pay for mine.”

  “I’ve got it.”

  “But you paid for lunch.”

  He finally turned to her. Instead of the irritation she was sure he was feeling, he gave her a smile that hit clear to her toes. Then he leaned forward and said in a low voice, “This is what I do when I’m on a date.”

  She watched him purchase the tickets, a bit stunned by his words and even more stunned by her reaction to them. A date? But they weren’t on a date. Even if they were pretending to be on a date, it wasn’t a real date. By the time she’d traveled that confusing train of thought, he was gesturing for her to go with him into the planetarium.

  When they entered the dim auditorium, a different type of excitement filled her. She’d been here a few times but it never failed to inspire her. They found their seats just as the room darkened and the planetarium lit up with the show. She saw images of stars, planets, nebulas, all to a classical soundtrack that thrilled her. But she knew even something as awe-inspiring as this only barely scratched the surface of the amazing universe God had created.

  At one point she shifted in her chair and put her hand on the armrest. It touched Reuben’s arm, also lying there. When she started to pull away, he slipped his hand into hers and held on to it.

  Her breath caught and she glanced at him. He kept his eyes on the show, his profile illuminated by bright and twinkling stars on the ceiling above them. His hand was large, callused from farmwork, and warm. Her pulse felt rapid. Somehow a trip to the optometrist had turned into a date—one that felt very real to her.

  She leaned back against the chair and tried to focus on the show. But how could she do that when Reuben was holding her hand? Surely he’d let it go any time now. But he held on until the lights in the planetarium turned back on.

  They walked out of the building and waited on the sidewalk for their ride home. Reuben was staring at the sky, which was still full of evening summer light, obscuring even the brightest stars. His hands were in his pockets now, and he was acting as if nothing had happened in the planetarium.

  Emily frowned. She didn’t imagine him holding her hand for a good part of the show. But why would he do that, then act like he hadn’t?

  “The North Star is right about there, isn’t it?” He pointed at the sky.

  She moved to stand next to him. He was off by a few inches. She was about to tell him, but on instinct she reached up and moved his arm to the correct position. “There. That’s the North Star. Too bad you can’t see it.”

  He looked down at her. They weren’t alone, as people were still filing out of the building. The show hadn’t been full, but it was closing and everyone was leaving. He dropped his arm and looked at her with enough intensity that she felt a shiver down her spine. “What happened between you and Wayne?” Then he shook his head. “Never mind. It’s not mei business.” Then he looked over her shoulder. “Taxi’s here.”

  She followed him to the small sedan that would take them home. He sat in the front next to the driver while she sat in back. She was glad for it, since Reuben made small talk with the driver and she was left to process what had happened at the planetarium. It was all so confusing. She’d never held hands with a boy—or a man, for that matter. And Reuben wasn’t jus
t any man. He was a friend, who was pretending to be her boyfriend for a short period of time. He was helping her out, and that’s what friends did. She hadn’t even minded him asking her about Wayne, and she would have told him about it if the taxi hadn’t arrived.

  But she wasn’t so naïve that she didn’t know the feelings she was developing for him were anything but friendly. Which was definitely unexpected—and definitely a problem.

  The rest of the week Reuben focused on his job and tried not to think about Emily. But that was hard today, especially after the time they’d spent together in town. When the taxi dropped her off at her house, she had barely looked at him before hurrying inside. Then again, he should have expected that. He had held her hand without her permission after all.

  He slammed his hoe into the ground. He was cultivating a row of beans, something he could do in his sleep. Unfortunately, that gave him plenty of time to kick himself for holding her hand. He still wasn’t sure why he’d done it, only that when she had lightly brushed against him, it was like his hand had a will of its own. But that wasn’t exactly true. He knew exactly what he was doing. He just couldn’t stop himself—because he didn’t want to.

  She had a soft, delicate hand, and it fit nicely in his. He’d really enjoyed himself during the planetarium show. Emily’s enthusiasm for astronomy was infectious, and he’d learned a lot. There was only one thing he didn’t understand—his unexpected feelings for Emily.

  Then again, how could he not feel something for her after her gentle reassurance that he wasn’t a jerk? The sincerity and warmth he’d seen in her eyes, even behind those thick lenses, had jarred him. And touched him. And confused him more than anything else had in his life.

  “Need a drink?”

  He stopped his hoe and looked at Judah, who was holding out a jug of water. Reuben took it, flipped off the lid, and took a big swig. It was Friday, and by now Judah had usually gone back to the home he and Esther shared a mile down the road. “Didn’t realize you were still here,” he said, capping the jug and handing it back.

  “I’ll be leaving in a minute.” He took the jug from Reuben. “After we have a little talk.”