by Naomi Miller
“Danki. Be sure to tell Sean we appreciate it.”
“I will. And I'll see you later to get those deliveries.” He was halfway out the door when Katie called to him.
“Travis, there are no deliveries that can't wait until after the High Tea. You're going to be so busy with lunch. Do not worry about running back over here in between.”
“Are you sure, Katie?”
Katie was nodding before he finished. “For sure and for certain, Travis. They can wait until the High Tea is finished.”
He stepped back in a bit and Katie added, “I am for certain, Travis. Go—before you are late.”
“All right, then. I'll see you after tea time.”
“Jah, that sounds gut. See you then.”
With a last nod, he slipped out the door. It closed behind him just as Freida walked back into the kitchen.
“Katie, did I hear someone's voice?”
“Jah, you heard Travis. Sean sent us a lunch.” She motioned to the basket he had left for them.
“Did he pick up any of the afternoon deliveries?”
“Nee, he had to rush right back.”
Freida said nothing, just turned and walked back through the swinging doors.
* * *
It was late afternoon before Travis came back. Katie just happened to pull a tray of cookies out of the oven as the back door opened.
“Travis, it's gut to see you. How did High Tea go?”
“It was good. Busy. Did you enjoy the lunch Sean sent over?
“Jah, it was wunderbaar gut.”
“Gut—I mean good. Katie I hate to bother you, but have you seen my sister lately?”
The question—and the worry in Travis' voice—threw Katie completely off balance.
“I saw her a few days ago, when she came by the bakery looking for you. Since then. . . nee, I have not.” Katie shrugged as she answered, surprised at the worry in her freind's voice.
“Not at all? Not even from a distance? Maybe somewhere in town?”
“Nee. I have not, Travis. Is everything all right with Gwen?”
“To tell you the truth, Katie, I don't know. She disappears all the time lately. I don't even know if she's going to school when she's supposed to or not.”
He raked a hand through his already unruly hair before going on.
“I have no idea what's going on with her lately. She's never home when she should be. She comes in late every night. And all she does is make excuses. And that's when I can get her to talk to me, which isn't very often. Mostly she just slinks off to her room and ignores me.”
“I am sorry, Travis. I wish there was some way that I could help.”
“Thanks, Katie. That means so much to me. I wish I could think of some way you could help.”
At the squeak of the swinging door, both Katie and Travis turned when Freida walked into the kitchen.
“Freida, have you seen my sister lately?”
Katie cringed at the worry in Travis' voice. Knowing how excited and froh Freida had been for weeks now, Katie was not at all certain her freind would respond accordingly.
She was not wrong.
Freida nearly sang out when she answered. “Nee, Travis. I haven't seen her at all lately. Why?”
Travis didn't answer and Katie started to speak up, but she could see that Freida was hardly paying either of them any mind. She was clearly in a world of her own, thinking about the wedding. . . or Thomas. . . or both.
Katie slowly kneaded the dough in front of her, watching Travis carefully as he stacked boxes for more deliveries. His mouth was moving, but there was no sound that she could hear.
Perhaps he is talking to himself.
She only wished there was some way to help him—and Gwen.
Gwen is such a sweet maedel.
At the same time, she thought about the last singing she had attended, the one where Gwen had kumme with some of her freinden. They had all been dressed very inappropriately, no doubt trying to look much older than they were, but clearly with no idea that young Amish buwes did not pay any mind to such ridiculous clothing.
I hope she is not involved in anything dangerous.
“I just wish I knew where she was going all the time.” Travis spoke quietly, under his breath, but Freida was close enough to hear and it pulled her out of her own thoughts.
“Have you even asked her, Travis?”
Katie shook her head at her freind's question. She wanted to laugh at the innocence in Freida's words, but given that there were no younger children in her family, Freida really had no way of knowing how pointless it was to question teenagers about their activities.
Living with several siblings—both younger and older bruders and schweschders, Katie knew first hand that teenagers were only cooperative when they felt like it—and no amount of questioning would change that.
Fortunately, Travis was either too distracted or he chose to ignore Freida’s question.
“Travis, I don’t think Gwen would do anything bad or dangerous.”
When Travis said nothing, Katie went on. “I’m sure there must be a reasonable explanation for where she has been going. . . and for what she is doing.”
Travis looked up at Katie, hope evident in his eyes. “Do you think so?”
Katie nodded immediately. “I do. I really do. Gwen is a gut maedel.”
“She is. I know that.” He spoke softly, almost under his breath again.
“I have deliveries.” Travis spoke quickly and quietly as he turned away from the two of them and headed for the back door.
Katie watched him go, still wishing there was something she could do for him. For sure and for certain, she would be thinking of him—and praying for his family—tonight and tomorrow at the Sunday service.
— FIVE —
Travis followed the dusty road to the Yoder's farm. He had finished the Monday morning deliveries quicker than he had expected to—and now he needed to talk to a friend.
It was actually a bit surprising that Jake was the first name that came to mind when he thought of a friend nearby. But since moving from the city, he had completely lost touch with most of his friends there.
Not that I had all that many people who I could talk to about something like this anyway.
Friends he had made in the city had either come from small families or they had been an only child. None of them would understand how it felt to be in his shoes; responsible for his brothers and sisters while his mother slowly regained her health.
At least Jake understood responsibility.
That is one thing these plain folks teach their kids early. Wish I could figure out their secret.
He slowed the car as he drove along the gravel drive that he had driven many times over the past couple of months, thinking about how he had met Jake. At the time, he had no idea that Jake was Amish.
Nothing about that first meeting had given Travis the first clue that his new friend lived on a farm, raised chickens, helped grow his own food and dressed like someone from colonial times.
Only after moving back home, had Travis discovered the truth to his new friend's upbringing. To say it had been an eye-opener was a huge exaggeration.
However, it had not taken long for the two of them to discover that the differences in their childhood had very little bearing on their friendship.
Before he reached the end of the drive, two boys he recognized as Jake's brothers were racing out to the car, waving wildly.
Probably wondering if I brought any treats from the bakery with me.
He stopped the car by the new chicken house he had helped Jake finish earlier in the year. He was still amazed at the size of the structure that held nothing but chickens.
The two boys—whose names he could never seem to remember—leaned in the car window, excitedly throwing out questions, talking over each other until he held up a hand in surrender.
Thankfully, before the boys could launch into any more questions, Jake came around the side of the barn and
raised a hand in greeting.
He said something to the two boys in their native language—which Travis still only understood a handful of words—and they went running off toward the fields.
“Hey, Travis. You kumme out to help with the chickens?”
He said it with a laugh, one that Travis knew was at his expense. When Jake's uncle had delivered the chickens, Travis had offered to help transfer them from the truck.
He had had no idea what he was getting himself into—and the ruckus that followed had been almost more than he could handle.
Jake had not been the only Yoder laughing at Travis that day, either.
“Very funny, Jake. You're the one who didn't warn me.”
“You Englischers are too easy sometimes.”
Travis smiled. . . then joined in, laughing at how desperate he had felt that day. Thankfully, Jake's family had understood. Jake and his brothers had handled most of the transfer.
When they stopped laughing, Travis remembered that he had come here to talk to Jake, to get his advice.
“Listen, can we talk about siblings a bit? I need some advice.”
“Sure man. Kumme on back to the barn. I've got a couple of things I need to finish, but you can talk while I work.”
Travis climbed out of the low vehicle and followed.
“I might even give you a hand.”
When Jake laughed, Travis added, “As long as it doesn't involve chickens.”
They laughed all the way to the barn.
* * *
Freida walked into the coffee shop across the street, waving to Hannah Kaufman—who was finishing up a customer's order—as she walked up to the long counter.
There was only one other customer in the shop, which Freida was thankful for. She did not like to leave work early, but she had begun to feel like she just had to get out of there.
Business had been especially brisk, and evenings and weekends she stayed busy trying to get everything ready for the wedding—and moving from her haus to the one she would be sharing with Thomas.
I need a break. I can't keep working sunup to sundown. Especially with no other help at the bakery. Katie would help, but she's so busy she can't leave the kitchen to help me out front.
“Hello, Freida. How is business going at the bakery?”
“Business is gut, Hannah—very gut. We are already busier than usual this week.”
“You want your usual?”
Freida nodded and Hannah turned to begin pouring her kaffe.
“When does Mrs. Simpkins return?”
“Not for another week at least. I hope Katie and I can keep up with everything until she returns.”
“Are you going to postpone your honeymoon trip until after she returns?”
“Jah. I don't see that there is anything else to do. For sure and for certain, Katie cannot do it all by herself. It's almost too much for the both of us. Honestly, I don't see how Katie and Mrs. Simpkins will be able to manage when I'm gone.”
“Why doesn't she hire someone part-time to help out, especially during the busiest times? She will need someone when you leave anyway, won't she, or are you planning to continue working?”
“You know Hannah, that is a wunderbaar idea. Katie will need some help when I am gone. Even with Mrs. Simpkins back, the bakery will be too busy for just the two of them. I will talk to Katie about it. I am certain Mrs. Simpkins would approve.”
“Jah, I am certain she would. And if you can get her trained in time, perhaps you would not have to put off your honeymoon trip.”
“Thomas would like the sound of that.”
“I am certain he would.”
Both girls burst into laughter. Hannah handed Freida her kaffe, then pulled out a raspberry turnover, which she knew was Freida's favorite dessert.
“Here you go, Freida—enjoy your treat.”
“Danki, Hannah. I will. Then I must get home. I have lots to do there.”
* * *
Travis pulled the bandana from his back pocket and swiped at the sweat on his brow. Jake had taken him up on his offer of help, and though he had not planned on the work being quite so hard, he had to admit that it was helping him to work out his frustrations over his little sister.
A tightly-bound bale of hay landed on the floor next to Travis and he let out a short laugh at Jake's timing.
“Hey Jake, how many more of these?”
“That's the last one.”
Travis laughed at the relief in his friend's voice. “I would have thought you'd be used to this kind of workload.”
“You never really get used to it. You do it because it has to be done.” Jake answered as he slid down the ladder to land beside Travis.
“Is that why you were in the city?” Travis turned so he could see Jake's face when he answered.
“Honestly. . .”
He didn't answer out loud, just nodded his head as Jake took one end of the hay bale and he hefted the other side.
“This is part of the reason, jah.” His breath huffed out as the two of them dropped the bale of hay.
“So, you weren't sure you wanted to be a farmer?”
“I wasn't sure I had what it takes to be a farmer. It's not the same thing.”
Travis weighed his next words carefully. “What made you decide to come back?”
“When I was out there on rumschpringe, I worked a lot of different jobs.” He pulled a sharp knife from the back pocket of his work pants and went to work on the thick baling wire before going on.
“I wanted to be sure I was making the right choice.”
“Sounds sensible to me.”
“Jah, it was the right thing. Do you know what I learned from all of those jobs?”
Travis shook his head in answer.
“I learned that it doesn't matter what job you have. All of them are hard. But this one, this job I can do.”
Travis found himself nodding along with his friend. He would not have thought of that, but he could see where it made sense.
“So, Travis, what is it you were wanting to ask me about earlier?”
And Travis realized that he didn't need to ask anymore. He knew what he needed to do.
— SIX —
The next morning, Katie looked up when the kitchen door swung open and Freida nearly danced through it.
She is certainly in a better mood than she was when she left yesterday. Maybe the extra rest helped.
“Katie,” She practically sang the word.
“Jah, Freida?”
“I know what we need to do now. I was talking with Hannah before going home yesterday, and I think she has given us the solution to all of our troubles.”
Intrigued, Katie looked at her freind and waited for her to go on.
“We need to hire more help for the bakery.”
The sound of the bell over the front door of the bakery stopped Katie from responding, and Freida dashed out with a quick “ach” to help whoever had just kumme in.
While she was gone, Katie thought over the idea. It really wasn't so terrible. It would mean that Freida and Thomas could go on their honeymoon trip immediately—if they could find someone and get them trained in time.
And it's something we would have to do at some point, anyway. Even once Mrs. Simpkins is back, there is too much for her to keep up with in the office, for her to put in the kind of time that Freida does behind that counter, waiting on customers.
And for those who choose to stay; Freida brings them refills of kaffe, chats with them a bit, then wipes off the table when they leave—all the while watching out for new customers.
And it isn't as if I can do the baking and wait on the customers, too. Lately it's been so busy, I never seem to have time to leave the kitchen.
She continued to ponder on the idea while she scooped cookie dough onto a lined cookie sheet.
I wonder who we could get. It would need to be someone who is gut with people, someone who knows their way around a cash register, and someone who knows the peo
ple in town well enough.
“Right, where was I?” Freida spoke as she moved through the doors, back into the kitchen.
“We need to hire some help. Who do you think it should be?”
“Well, I think the obvious choice would be Travis' young sister, Gwen. Travis would not worry so much over where she is if she is here. And we know she is a quick learner and gut with people. I think she would do a wunderbaar job.”
Katie was shaking her head before Freida had even finished. “Freida, Gwen might seem like the obvious choice, but she is still in school.
“Ach, Katie, you are right. I did not even think of that.”
“We could still ask her to help out. She could work in the afternoons and on Saturdays—and it would be a gut thing if Travis does not have to worry about her so much. If she is here, she is not out, getting into trouble.”
“Jah, Katie, that is a wunderbaar gut idea.”
“Gut. Now the next question is, who else can we get? We need to find someone who can work full-time to help out, too.”
“I do not know of anyone who is needing a job now. Perhaps Gott will send us someone.”
“Jah, that is just what I will pray for, Freida. And in the meantime, we should mention the idea to Travis. He will need to let Gwen know—and perhaps he knows of someone else who is in need of a job.”
* * *
When Travis came in to pick up the afternoon deliveries, both girls were waiting to talk to him. The moment he stepped through the back door, the kitchen door swung open and Freida rushed through it.
“Hey Travis. We have something to talk to you about. Something I think you're going to like.”
“I have lots of deliveries this afternoon, plus going by to help Sean at the cafe. Can it wait until later?”
“Nee, but we won't keep you too long.” Katie assured him.
As quickly as they could, Katie and Freida shared their plans with Travis, including the hiring of a full-time counter person.
“Can you recommend anyone? Do you know of someone who has any experience, or is looking for work?” Katie asked.