“We’re together?” Did he mean they were dating—courting?
“That’s what I’d like, if that’s what you want too.” He stared at her waiting for an answer.
She allowed herself to relax a little. “I do, and you’re right about not being concerned about other people. My schweschder says I’ve done that too much.”
“Catherine?”
“Jah.”
“She's quite wise for a young girl, I'd say. Is she still ill? I haven’t seen her lately.”
“She’s getting better, but Mamm’s being a bit overprotective and won’t let her out of the haus.”
“Ah, mudders. What would we do without them?”
Adeline laughed. “They mean well. I’ve just realized you’ve got all boys in your family and I’ve got all girls.”
“That’s right. My mudder always wanted a girl, but it wasn’t to be. What about your mudder?”
“She’s never really said. I think she wanted more kinner than three, but it never happened.”
Three children were a small number to have for an Amish family.
“Just relax tonight and try to enjoy yourself. We’ll do something nice tomorrow by ourselves. I’ve probably thrown you in the deep end, but I wanted to see you sooner than Saturday. That was probably selfish of me, it was just a night extra I would have had to wait.”
“I’m pleased. I wanted to see you before tomorrow as well.”
Joshua turned to her and gave her a beaming smile and all her worries left her.
The worry returned, however, when they got to the house and saw his mother standing on the porch with her arms folded.
“Looks like something’s wrong,” he said.
“Maybe she’s changed her mind about me coming.”
“Nee. It can’t be that.”
He got out of the buggy and hurried toward his mother with Adeline following close behind. “What is it, Mamm?”
“It’s Timothy. He’s crashed his car. He’s not harmed, but he’s shaken and refusing to come home, and the police are involved.”
“How did you find out?”
“The police came here because he had this address on his license. The police said he had an accident and didn’t stop.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Your vadder wants to keep out of it and let him settle his own problems. He said that’s the path he chose. Samuel and the other boys are still at work finishing something off, and Levi and Isaac are still helping people with their Friday night jobs.”
“They’re still there?”
“You left them shorthanded when you left early to get Adeline. Isaac called to tell me they’d be late.” His mother looked at Adeline and looked back at Joshua. “We’ll have to cancel dinner.”
“Hello, Mrs. Fuller. I'm sorry for your troubles.”
“Hello, Adeline. Denke, it will all work out, I’m sure.”
Joshua turned to Adeline. “Would you mind very much staying here until I get back? You can have dinner with my folks while I sort Timothy out.” He swung back to his mother. “Will that be okay, Mamm?”
“Jah. I think Adeline and I have a lot we can talk about.”
Adeline nodded when Joshua looked back at her.
“Good. Do you know where Timothy is, Mamm?”
“Nee. He’s either at the police station or at … the place he and John live.”
“I’ll make a few calls.” He looked at Adeline. “You go inside with Mamm and I’ll see you later. Unless you’d like me to take you back home?”
“Nee I’ll be fine here. If that’s okay with you, Mrs. Fuller?”
“It is. Denke, Joshua. Also make some calls and cancel the family dinner. It’ll only be the family who live here that eat here tonight. As well as Adeline.”
Chapter 19
While Joshua hurried to the phone in the barn, Adeline trudged up the front porch steps. He’d said he wouldn’t leave her side all night and now she’d be having dinner with the other Fuller boys and Mr. and Mrs. Fuller. It wasn’t the night she’d been hoping for.
“Come in the kitchen and talk to me, Adeline. The food is nearly finished.”
“Okay, denke.”
Once they were in the kitchen, Mrs. Fuller ordered her to sit down. Adeline sat at the long wooden table in the open dining area adjoining the large kitchen. Adeline’s hands ran over the grain of the table.
“This is such a beautiful table. The wood is so lovely.”
“My vadder made that table. It’s solid Cherrywood.”
“I love the color.”
“Me too. He made it for my mudder when I was a young maedel.” Mrs. Fuller seemed pleased that she liked the table and she sat down with her. “I’ve got so many fond memories attached to this table. It’s silly really. It’s just a table, but it's as though it has a life of its own.”
“My Mamm’s like that with the clock Dat gave her for a wedding present. But a dreadful thing happened to it.”
“What?”
“Oh, well, the thing is, Mamm still doesn’t know, but one time when my younger schweschder was cleaning it, it slipped out of her hands. Well, the complete truth is that she was pretending to drop it. We often played around like that when we were dusting, and anyway, it so happened that she really dropped it.”
“Why doesn’t your mudder know?”
“She was out visiting at the time and we knew she’d be so upset if it was broken. She looks at it every day and smiles. Dat gave it to her on their wedding day and I think it brings back happy memories to her. Like this table does for you. It’s cream-colored with tiny blue and pink flowers—”
“What happened?”
“Ach, jah. Well, we found some glue in the barn and carefully glued it back together. It wasn’t broken at the front and the clock still worked. The glue set quickly and now you can only see a fine line.” Adeline’s fingertips flew to her mouth. Adeline and Catherine had never told anyone—they’d never dared to, not even Lucy, in case their mother found out. “You won’t tell her, will you?”
“Nee, of course I won’t. She’d be too upset, and besides, Catherine didn’t break it on purpose.”
“We shouldn’t have been horsing around like that.”
“You were only trying to pass the time in a joyful manner.”
“I guess so. And Mamm winds it every day and because the living room is dark, she’s never noticed.”
“And let’s hope she never will.” Mrs. Fuller gave a little chuckle. “One day I might have time to tell you some of my memories around this table.”
“I’d like that very much.”
“Would you?” Mrs. Fuller seemed surprised.
“Jah.”
“Denke. For now, how about you help me with making the sauce for dinner?”
“I’d love to help.”
For the sake of time, Joshua called a taxi and headed to the police station where Timothy and John were. He quickly unhitched the horse, rubbed him down, and returned him to the paddock while awaiting the taxi.
When he arrived at the station, Timothy and John were sitting on the stairs waiting for him. He paid the taxi fare and walked up to them, anxious to hear what had happened.
“It wasn’t our fault,” was the first thing Timothy said as he stood up.
John stood too. “Yeah, these guys were picking on us and trying to run us off the road and then I swerved and then they ran into a ditch. Then they called the cops on us.”
“Did the police charge you with anything?”
“Nah, we’re free to go. They said these guys had outstanding warrants against them, so now they’re locked up.”
“So, you’ve got no charges against you and no fines?”
“No,” John said.
“Only the thing is …”
“Our car’s totaled.”
"Jah. Now we’ve got no wheels.”
Joshua shook his head. “We’ll get a taxi, and then I’ll take you back to your place before I head home
.”
“How about a loan?” Timothy asked. “So we can buy another car.”
Joshua rubbed his neck. He had the money, but what if the second car ended up the same as the first one? Was he teaching them a lesson handing them money he’d most likely never see again? “Why do you need a car?”
“To get to work,” John said.
“You get into too much trouble borrowing money. Better to save and buy something outright.”
“Don’t worry,” John said to Timothy, “I’ll ask my folks.”
Timothy nodded.
Joshua felt a little guilty refusing someone money when he had it to give, but he wasn’t convinced they needed transport to get to work since they lived within walking distance to their place of employment. And he had other plans for the money he'd been saving.
Joshua called for a taxi and when it arrived he took the boys home to their apartment.
John said, “Thanks for coming, Joshua.”
“Jah, denke, Joshua,” Timothy said.
“You're welcome. Keep out of trouble, now, both of you. Okay?”
The two boys nodded before they headed to their apartment building. Then Joshua’s thoughts leaped directly back to Adeline. She must be feeling awkward, being there with his younger brothers, Jacob, Samuel, and Benjamin, and his mother and father. He’d have to make it up to her and their Saturday would have to be extra special.
When Joshua arrived home, he saw Adeline sitting in the living room happily talking while everyone listened. She stopped talking when she saw him, a smile lighting her face, and his mother jumped up and hurried over to him.
“What happened?” she asked him.
“Everything’s fine. They weren’t charged, but their car was destroyed. It wasn’t their fault.”
“Are you sure they’re okay? And how could it not be their fault?”
“Jah, Mamm, they’re fine. Some Englischer boys were in another car, trying to run John, who was the driver, off the road. Instead the Englischers went into the ditch, called the police, and tried to blame John and Timothy. Their plan backfired, though, because there were outstanding warrants against them and the police knew they were troublemakers. So the Englischers are in jail, and there are no charges at all against John or Timothy.”
“Ah, gut. Denke, Joshua. I feel much better. I have your dinner hot in the oven for you. I made, well actually, it was Adeline who made your special onion sauce.”
Surprised, he looked over at Adeline. “Really?”
“Adeline why don’t you keep Joshua company in the kitchen while he eats his dinner?”
“Okay.”
“Don’t forget to finish your story when you come back,” Samuel said.
“I'll remember.” Adeline rose to her feet and headed to the kitchen.
Chapter 20
His mother got his food out of the oven and placed it on the table, and then she left the two of them alone.
“So. I come home, and you’re already part of the family.”
Adeline giggled. “I’ve had a really good time. Your family is so nice.”
“Denke. I think so.” He looked down at his food. “Did my mudder really allow you to help her in the kitchen?”
“Jah, she did. She showed me how you like your onion sauce.”
He chuckled. “I can barely believe it. I’ll eat this and I’ll take you home. We’ve got a big day tomorrow and it’s late already.”
“What are we doing?”
“I’m still working out the finer details.”
“I’m glad that Timothy didn’t get hurt in the accident.”
“Me too. I know Mamm’s worried about him, I am too, but we have to give him over to Gott.”
Adeline nodded. “You’re right.”
“Mm, this is delicious sauce.”
Adeline chuckled. “I’m sure it’s the same as you’ve had before.”
“It tastes much better now that I know you made it for me.”
When Joshua finished his meal, they joined the family in the living room and Adeline told the rest of her story from where it had been interrupted by Joshua's homecoming. Then Adeline said goodnight to his family, and the two of them slipped outside into the fresh night air.
As they walked to the buggy he took hold of her hand. Her hand fit in his as though it belonged. He wanted to share with her how thrilled he was that his mother liked her, but that would make his mother sound like an ogre. He knew Adeline was the one for him, and he’d known it for a long time. She was shy and caring, not bold and brash like some of the other girls he knew. This was the woman he wanted to have children with.
When he reached the buggy, he looked down into her eyes as she looked up into his. “I don’t want to let go of your hand,” he whispered.
“Then don’t.”
A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “I have to for a moment, so I can go around to my side and get into the buggy.”
“Just for a moment.”
After they both got into the buggy, they joined hands again and neither let go until they reached Adeline’s house.
“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” he said.
“Me too. I’ll be waiting.”
He gave her hand a small squeeze before he released it. When he saw she was safely inside, he headed back down the darkened driveway to the road.
Catherine was asleep under a quilt on the couch.
Adeline pulled back the quilt and woke her up, so she could tell her everything that had happened that night. The girls stayed awake most of the night talking.
Joshua arrived home to a dark house. Then a light was lit by the couch and he saw his mother and father sitting there, looking half asleep.
“Why aren’t you two in bed?” he asked.
“Your mudder made me wait up for you.”
His mother gently dug his father in the ribs. “Obadiah, you shouldn’t say that.”
“It’s the truth.” He chuckled.
He sat down with them. “Are you worried about Timothy?”
“This isn’t about Timothy.”
“Nee, your mudder couldn’t sleep because she’s pleased about the guest you invited for dinner.”
“She’s a nice girl. Will she be coming here again?” She leaned forward waiting to hear his answer.
“If you must know, we’re spending the day together tomorrow.”
His mother brought her hands to her chest. “I’m so happy.”
“Now can I go to bed, Mamm? I’ve had a busy day.”
She leaped to her feet. “Jah, go to bed so you’re nice and fresh for tomorrow.”
“Oh, Mamm. Would you care to do something for me?”
“Jah of course.”
“There’s a slight matter of a picnic basket, and the food to go in it. I was going to ask Hazel for help, but the dinner had to be cancelled tonight, so I didn’t see her.”
“I think I can find some food in the pantry for a picnic.”
“Denke, Mamm.” With so many men in the house, there was always plenty of food about.
“Now can I go to bed, too?” his father said, grinning from ear-to-ear.
“Jah. You didn’t have to wait with me.”
As Joshua walked up the stairs, he heard his father say to his mother, “You know I can never go to sleep unless you’re by my side.”
Joshua smiled and he hoped he’d have a marriage like his parents'. They were still very much in love.
Chapter 21
The next morning, Joshua was hitching his buggy and excited for his big day when Benjamin, his youngest brother, walked out of the house to join him.
“You know, if you’re certain Adeline is right for you—”
“You don’t need to give me advice.”
“Don’t I?”
“Nee, you don’t. I give you advice,” Joshua said.
Benjamin chuckled. “Maybe at work, but not with my relationships.”
“I wasn’t aware you had a relationship.”
“I
was just going to say—”
“Mamm sent you out here, didn’t she?”
Benjamin smiled and looked downward. “She wanted to send Jacob out but he refused. I think he wants Adeline for himself.”
“I don’t think he does.”
“Are you going to marry her?”
“I might.”
“Gut. I like her.”
“It seems everyone here likes her.” Joshua was finished hitching the buggy, and he led the horse away from the barn a few steps. “Goodbye, Benjamin.”
Benjamin folded his arms across his chest. “Have a good day. Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding.”
Joshua chuckled and climbed into the buggy. When he got out onto the road, he trotted the horse, glad that every step was taking him closer to Adeline. It was a perfect day with not a cloud in the sky. Would today be too early to ask her to marry him? Even though he knew she was the woman for him it would only be the first day they spent together.
Adeline paced up and down the living room floor waiting for Joshua to collect her. She’d woken early and had dressed in a soft violet-colored dress. Catherine had brushed out her hair and braided it for her while giving her advice for the date. She didn’t take much notice of her sister's advice, but listened just the same. Catherine had told her to be sure she didn’t agree with everything he said because other girls would’ve done that. Adeline was going to be herself. Her younger sister had also made sure her cape and apron were just so, and her kapp was straight.
When he finally arrived at her house, she said goodbye to her parents who were eating breakfast, and went out to meet him.
“Gude mariye.”
“Gude mariye, Joshua.” She climbed onto the seat next to him.
He glanced behind him. “I’ve got a picnic basket packed. My mudder helped me with that. It’s for later in the day. You’ve eaten, haven’t you?”
“I have. Have you?”
“Jah.” As he left her driveway and moved onto the road, he said, “I thought we’d drive to look at some covered bridges and see a few places we wouldn’t normally visit.”
Joshua's Choice: Amish Romance (Seven Amish Bachelors Book 3) Page 10