by Amy Clipston
“I never said they were.”
“I know.” He gave her shoulder a little shove, and she laughed. Then he grabbed the reins. “I’d better get you home before your family starts to worry about you.”
Marlene stared out the window as the raindrops subsided. By the time Rudy guided the horse up her aunt’s driveway, the rain was gone and the sunshine had begun to peek through the clouds.
“Danki for the ride,” she told him when he halted the horse.
“Gern gschehne.”
She pulled off the quilt and held it up. “I can wash this for you and bring it to work.”
“No need.” He took the damp quilt and tossed it into the back of the buggy. “I’ll ask mei mamm to wash it.”
She pushed the door open and then hesitated. “Would you like to stay for supper?”
“Mei mamm is expecting me. Maybe some other time?”
“All right. Gut nacht.” She climbed out of the buggy and shut the door.
As his horse and buggy made its way down the driveway, she considered that maybe Rudy was right. She needed to take him up on his offer to meet his friends. With Rudy’s help, maybe she would make even more friends within the Bird-in-Hand community.
But what if Rudy’s friends didn’t like her?
“So you gave her a ride home in the rain?” Mamm’s eyes were wide as they ate the pot roast she had made.
Rudy swallowed an aggravated puff of air. “Ya, I did. She was soaked.”
Mamm clicked her tongue. “You should have accepted her offer to stay for supper.”
“Is that right?” Rudy set his glass of water on the table. “I thought you’d be upset since you made a point of telling Dat and me that you were making pot roast tonight and that we’d better be home on time.”
“Well,” Mamm hesitated. “I would have understood if you were having supper with Marlene. After all, she’s a lovely maedel, and neither of you is getting any younger. You have to seize every opportunity to get to know her before another young man wins her heart and marries her.”
“Mamm.” Rudy squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”
“You should be.” She pointed her fork at him. “You’re almost thirty, and I want grandchildren before I’m too old to play with them.”
Rudy turned to his father and offered his best pleading expression.
“I appreciate that you and Marlene got all of that new stock out onto the floor today,” Dat said without missing a beat. “That was a big project done.”
As Dat continued to discuss the store, Rudy replayed his conversation with Marlene in his mind. The emotion in her voice had taken him aback, and when her tears began to fall, he’d longed to pull her into his arms and console her.
Where had this sudden urge to protect her come from?
He really didn’t know her very well, and he had no right to even consider touching her. Still, he felt her tugging at his heartstrings.
Talking to her was so easy. He’d never shared with anyone his innermost feelings about his breakup with Laura. When his friends had asked about it, he’d only said that they’d grown apart. But when he’d opened up to Marlene, he had spoken the honest truth using words he’d never before been brave enough to utter. To no one else had he admitted his regret for not being the boyfriend Laura had needed and deserved when she’d lost her mother and best friend.
Rudy pushed his peas around his plate with his fork as he remembered Marlene’s beautiful face as she listened to him. In the moment he’d felt as if Marlene understood him better than any of his friends. Perhaps he needed Marlene’s friendship as much as she’d needed his today.
His chest filled with warmth at the idea of knowing her better. He’d have to insist she join him on Sunday when he went to see his friends. He just hoped that her father would soon realize that moving back to Bird-in-Hand was a blessing and not a burden—and that Marlene’s reunion with the community would become permanent.
CHAPTER 5
Rudy came around the counter at the front of the store as Marlene rang up another customer, bagged his items, and handed the Amish man his receipt.
“Danki for coming in today, Wilbur.” Her pretty face lit up with a smile as she held out his bag. “I hope you’ll come see us again soon.”
“Danki.” Wilbur took his bag and nodded before heading to the door.
“You are officially an expert,” Rudy said as he approached her.
“Well, I sure hope I am after two weeks of working here.” Marlene closed the cash register drawer, then looked around the store. “Is everyone gone?”
“Yup.” Rudy hopped up on a stool and faced her. “It’s actually time to close up.”
“Wow.” She looked up at the clock. “Today flew by.”
“I told you Saturdays were busy.” He rested his right ankle on his left knee.
“You weren’t kidding.” She pushed a couple of buttons on the register, and it popped open. “I guess I’ll start closing.”
“No, I’ll do it.” He leaned forward and pushed the drawer closed. “I have a question for you.”
“Oh. What’s your question?” Her green eyes rounded as she looked over at him.
She’d been pleasant to him all day, but they hadn’t had much time to talk since the store never slowed down. In fact, they had taken their lunches in shifts, which was disappointing. Rudy enjoyed eating with her on the quieter days during lunch the last two weeks, but today their constant stream of customers had other plans.
“What are you doing after church tomorrow?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” She pushed the ribbons on her prayer covering behind her slight shoulders.
“I’m wondering if you’re actually going to come with me to visit mei freinden tomorrow after the service. You said you were interested, but you turned me down last time. Will you come with me tomorrow?” He held his breath, praying she’d agree to join him at his friend’s house.
“Oh.” She fingered the counter and swallowed. “I guess so.”
He narrowed his eyes and studied what appeared to be her jitters. “Are you naerfich?”
She chewed her lower lip and gave him a half shrug. “Maybe.”
“Why are you nervous?” He couldn’t stop his smile. She was so cute.
“What if your freinden don’t like me?”
He clicked his tongue as he stood. “You can’t possibly be serious.”
“What do you mean?” She took a step toward him.
“How could they not like you?” He gestured toward her. “Marlene, you’re sweet, funny, and schee. They’re going to love you.” In fact, I’m a little concerned about how much they’ll like you. He grinned at Marlene and headed toward the front door, hoping to leave his errant thought behind him at the counter.
“I’ll lock up so that no more customers decide to come in.” Rudy locked the door and flipped the sign to Closed before turning back toward the counter. Marlene still stood there motionless, her eyes wide once again.
“So, what do you say?” he asked.
“Ya, I will.” She nodded, but her expression still seemed surprised.
“Great.” He felt some of the tension in his shoulders release. She’d finally agreed to meet his friends.
If only he could figure out why he was so determined to convince her to like his friends.
After church the following afternoon, Rudy smiled up at Marlene as she filled his coffee cup. “Are we still on for this afternoon?”
“Ya.” Marlene gave a little smile and then reached across the table for Neil’s cup.
Neil divided a look between Marlene and Rudy as his dark eyebrows rose. “What’s this about?”
“Marlene is coming with me today,” Rudy explained.
“Really?” Neil took his filled cup from Marlene. “You’re going to join us at Paul’s haus?”
“Ya.” She lifted the carafe. “I’ll see you after lunch.”
“I look forward
to it,” Rudy called after her as she moved on to the next table. She looked so pretty today clad in a yellow dress that reminded him of butter. Her eyes seemed greener and her smile genuine when she saw him across the barn during the sermon.
Neil leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You finally did it. You asked her out!”
Rudy’s smile faded as he looked across the table at his cousin. “It’s not a date.”
“Ya, it is.” Neil pointed at him. “It’s a date, and it’s about time.” He tapped the table. “Gut for you. You’ve been single too long. You haven’t dated anyone since you broke up with Laura, and that was almost four years ago.”
Rudy groaned. “You sound like mei mamm.”
“Maybe that’s because she’s right. It’s time for you to move on.”
Rudy looked over to where Marlene filled another man’s cup, and he found himself contemplating what it would be like to date her. They were good friends already. She seemed to open up to him, and he certainly didn’t have any trouble talking to her.
But he wasn’t looking for a relationship, and neither was she. And if he were looking for one, he wouldn’t want to ruin their special friendship by dating her. What if they broke up? Working with her would become awkward, and their friendship would dissolve—just as his friendship with Laura was destroyed by their breakup.
“Admit it,” Neil began, breaking through Rudy’s thoughts. “You like her—a lot.”
“Ya, I like her as a freind and nothing more.” Rudy tried to stress his words.
“You’re narrisch.”
“Why am I crazy?”
“Because a maedel like her won’t stay single for long.” Neil gestured toward Marlene. “You should act now. If not, then you’ll be bellyaching when someone else asks her out.”
“Once again, you sound like mei mamm,” Rudy groused.
“Maybe that’s because your mamm is right yet again.”
As Neil took a long drink of coffee, Rudy let Neil’s words filter through his mind. No matter what his friend said, Rudy couldn’t convince himself to risk his friendship with Marlene, because she had somehow become important to him—and he couldn’t risk losing her now.
“I’m going with Rudy to visit some freinden this afternoon,” Marlene told Anna and Dat as they stood by Dat’s buggy after lunch.
“And I’m going to youth group with Betsy,” Anna chimed in.
“Okay.” Dat opened the buggy door. “You both be safe.”
Anna looped her arm around Marlene’s shoulder and steered her back toward the barn. Her pretty face broke out into a grin. “You have a date?”
“No,” Marlene said, trying to hush Anna. “It’s not a date. Rudy just invited me to visit with freinden. That’s all it is, so don’t make more of it than that.”
“I think he likes you.”
“Why would you say that?” Marlene tried to ignore how her heart danced at the idea.
“He was watching you during the service.”
“No, he wasn’t.”
“Ya, he was.” Anna spun to face her. “He was watching you a lot.” She wagged a finger at Marlene. “He likes you, and I think it’s wunderbaar. He’s a really nice man. He’d be gut for you.”
Marlene grabbed her sister’s finger to stop it from wagging. “Stop it. Just knock it off. Rudy is mei freind, and that’s it.”
“If you say so.” Anna grinned and then hugged her. “See you later. Go have some fun.”
“You too.” Marlene turned and headed toward where Rudy stood, leaning against his buggy door and talking to Neil. He looked so handsome in his Sunday black-and-white suit. He seemed taller, and his shoulders seemed even wider and broader than usual. The thought sent a tingly wave of warmth through her.
Where was this attraction coming from? The last thing she needed was a relationship to complicate her already complicated life. She needed Rudy to be her friend and nothing more.
He turned toward her and smiled, his handsome face brightening. “Are you ready?”
“Ya.” She straightened the hem of her apron as she approached him.
“Great.” Rudy looked at Neil. “We’ll see you there.”
Neil smiled at them both, then headed to his buggy.
Marlene climbed into the passenger side and crossed her arms over her waist as Rudy hopped in and grabbed the reins.
“Did Anna and Betsy go to their youth group?” Rudy asked, guiding the horse toward the road.
“Ya.” Marlene turned toward him. “Anna was froh to see me actually getting out of the haus today.”
“Oh ya?” He grinned. “That’s gut.”
“Sometimes I feel like the odd one out, you know?”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Why is that?”
“Well, Anna and Betsy are both the same age, and I’m the older one. It’s as if they’re schweschdere and I’m not.” Why was it so easy to confess her innermost thoughts and feelings to him?
He nodded slowly. “That makes sense, but you’re here with me. We’ll have our own fun this afternoon.”
“Right.” She settled back in the seat and smiled. She wouldn’t let her worries get her down today.
An amiable silence settled over them as she watched the traffic and farmland speed by outside the buggy. When Rudy guided the horse onto the road that led to her former farmhouse, her heart lurched and she gasped.
“Are you all right?” Rudy asked.
She nodded, but a pang lit in her chest—a mixture of grief, longing, and panic—when the little white farmhouse came into view. How had she not realized they were driving this way?
“This used to be our farmhouse, Rudy.”
“Oh, Marlene, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about—”
“It’s okay.” She turned toward him. “Can we stop for a minute?”
“Of course.” Rudy guided the horse to the grass in front of the house and halted. “Take your time.”
“Danki.” Marlene climbed out of the buggy and came around to the grass. Her legs wobbled as she took in the little two-story house with its wraparound porch and red barn. A knot of emotion tightened inside of her as memories of her mother overtook her mind. She recalled her mother humming as she made breakfast and smiling as she hung out the laundry from the back porch. She could almost see her mother standing in front of her, could almost hear her voice. Her body thrummed, and wetness gathered beneath her eyes.
Marlene blinked away a tear when she realized Rudy had come to stand beside her. She gave him a sad smile as heaviness settled around her heart. “I could get lost in the memories. I have been too nervous to come by here.” Her eyes closed. “You must think I’m a coward.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t think that at all.”
“It feels like we lived here just yesterday.” Marlene turned back toward the house. “I can still smell the kitchen when she was baking bread. Hear the sound of her voice when she sang, believing no one was listening.”
Her hand shook as she rubbed at a knot forming in her shoulder. “She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. She gave the best hugs. She always knew how to make me smile, even when I’d had a bad day or someone at school had hurt my feelings.”
“Who hurt your feelings?”
When she turned to face him, his expression was bold. Why was Rudy worried about something that had happened when they were children?
“Oh, it was nothing.” She waved off the comment as more memories doused her. Then something deep inside of her unlocked, allowing a torrent of words to flow from her lips. “When we found out she had cancer, the doctors said it was too advanced for the treatments to work. I prayed and prayed for her, begging God not to take her, but she was gone in only a matter of months.”
“I’m so sorry.” Rudy reached for her hand, and Marlene gasped when their skin brushed. A startling pulse zipped up her arm as his fingers enveloped hers.
Marlene studied his milk chocolate eyes. Had he noticed the sizzle between
them, or was she the only one to feel it?
Then he let go of her hand and stepped away from her. “Sorry. What were you saying?” When he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbed.
Marlene’s hand still tingled where Rudy’s hand had been. “She was gone so quickly, and mei dat changed. He worked later hours at his roofing jobs. He hardly ever spoke and he never smiled.” She sniffed and shook her head. “And then one day he said we were moving. There was no discussion. I think he wanted to escape the memories.”
Closing her eyes, she spoke through the rawness. “Some days I wonder what life would be like if Mamm had never gotten sick. Would my parents still live here? Would I have met someone in my former church district and gotten married? Would I be living on a farm and starting a family right now?” She turned toward Rudy and found him studying her. The intensity in his eyes sent a shiver through her.
She turned toward the buggy to escape his eyes and the unfamiliar feelings they rendered. “We should go. I’m sorry for holding us up.”
“Marlene. Wait.”
She spun to face him, and he gestured back toward the house.
“We can stay here as long as you want.” He pointed to the ground. “If you want to sit here and talk all afternoon, we can. Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”
His thoughtfulness surprised her, and she paused to gather her thoughts. “Danki, Rudy. But I’m ready to go.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. I really want to meet your freinden.” She turned her back on the house and climbed into the buggy as he hopped up on the other side.
He took hold of the reins and faced her. “They’re going to be your freinden too before the end of the day.”
“I hope so.” And she did.
Marlene sipped her lemonade and sat on a bale of hay while Rudy and Neil played Ping-Pong in the middle of Paul’s barn. She set the cup next to her on the bale and looked toward three young women talking in the corner. Across the barn, four more young men stood clustered near the Ping-Pong table, laughing and heckling each other good-naturedly.