Peach Cobbler Mystery

by Naomi Miller

  He had been bold enough to ask if he could take a picture of her. Then she had talked him into letting her take one of him—for her diary, she had said. And she had asked if he knew how to do selfies. . . when he said he did, she asked him to take one of them together.

  He loved the way they looked together.

  Katie's Baby Shower Mints

  Ingredients:

  8 oz real cream cheese, softened

  ¼ cup real butter, softened

  2½ cups powdered sugar

  1 tsp pure mint extract

  2-3 drops pink food coloring

  2-3 drops blue food coloring

  2-3 drops green food coloring

  2-3 drops yellow food coloring

  Instructions:

  1. Mix together cream cheese and butter.

  2. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Stir until mixed well.

  3. Add mint extract and stir to mix well.

  4. Slowly add another cup of powdered sugar, mixing until smooth and creamy.

  5. To make 4 multiple colors, separate dough into 4 bowls.

  6. Add 2-3 drops of food coloring to each bowl and mix until desired color.

  7. Cover. Refrigerate for several hours.

  8. Line two cookie sheets with wax paper and dust with powdered sugar.

  9. Form dough into 1” balls and roll in powdered sugar.

  10. Flatten each ball with the tines of a fork.

  11. Let stand, uncovered until mints are firm (this will take several hours).

  12. Store in airtight container (with wax paper between layers).

  Yield: 8 dozen.

  — SEVEN —

  When Mrs. Mueller arrived at the bakery the next morning, Katie just happened to be out front. Bella would be leaving for her weekly checkup soon and Ada always accompanied her.

  Katie watched as Mrs. O'Neal chatted with Mrs. Mueller and Bella, marveling in the change that Bella's arrival had caused in the woman. Keeping secrets wasn't something Ada Mueller had been known for. As long as Katie or anyone else in town she could think of could remember, she was the one person in town who could be counted on to spread gossip, whether the individual wanted the news to be shared or not.

  However, since Bella Stanton had shown up on her doorstep almost seven months ago, Mrs. Mueller had been keeping lots of secrets.

  Katie knew that Mrs. O'Neal had been more than a little worried about Bella continuing to work at the bakery. She had spoken first to Bella, then to Katie, and finally to Freida about it, but wasn't satisfied with the responses she received.

  She had even gone so far as to call the doctor's office, but they had informed her that they weren't allowed to share any information with her about her employee or her condition; nor would they give her any basic advice concerning the subject. Finally she'd gone to Mrs. Mueller, who had suggested she go along with them to the next appointment, if Bella agreed.

  After her husband dropped her off at the bakery, Mrs. O'Neal had shared the news with Katie that she would be leaving at nine-thirty with Bella and Mrs. Mueller.

  “Gwen is here to help you and Freida told me she'd come in at ten o'clock today, so you should have plenty of help for now. We should be back by lunchtime, according to Bella.”

  “Freida is coming today? That is gut.” Katie was relieved to hear it. There was much to do in the kitchen. “I think I will ask Gwen to wait on the customers until Bella returns. She has had lots of practice out front and should be able to handle the customers with no problems. I can use Freida's help with the baking today.”

  Katie enjoyed working with Freida and she needed to talk to her friend without anyone close by who would hear their conversation. This would be the perfect chance to share what had been going on recently.

  “And we both know this will give Freida a chance to fill up on more peach cobbler,” laughed Amelia. “My word, I don't think I ever took stock in pregnancy cravings until recently.”

  Katie nodded, laughing along with her boss.

  “But Freida and Bella have made a believer out of me with their constant cravings.”

  “It's a gut thing our customers have not ordered peach cobbler very often. More often than not, Freida and Bella don't leave much for anyone else.” Katie laughed again, but there was no response from Amelia.

  Katie followed the direction of her gaze and saw that she was looking over to where Bella stood with Mrs. Mueller and Gwen, all three of them laughing over something.

  Bella had a hand pressed against her large belly and, somehow, Katie was certain that was where her boss's eyes were trained. Concerned, Katie spoke up, her voice quiet so that only Mrs. O'Neal would hear. “Is everything allrecht, Mrs. O'Neal?”

  It was a moment before Amelia looked back to where Katie stood, the wet cloth she had been using to wipe down the counters hanging limply from one hand. “Yes, dear girl, everything is fine. Sometimes my thoughts travel back to the past without any warning.”

  Katie watched as her boss turned to watch Bella again. She did not really expect Amelia to speak again, but she did and her words were very quiet. . . almost too quiet for Katie to hear.

  “You see, although we wanted them, my Henry and I could never have children.” Katie could see her boss's eyes bright with unshed tears. “And Henry didn't want to adopt. It was a disappointment to me, but—“ She shrugged, but Katie could hear the sadness in her voice.

  Before Katie could say a word, Amelia hurried off to her office, returning after only a minute with one of her lace handkerchiefs. “I'm sorry, Katie. With both Freida and Bella expecting, I suppose babies have been on my mind lately. And now. . . well, with Andrew. . . his wife passed before they could have children.” She shrugged again, wiping away tears as she did so. “And I am much too old to have a child now, even if it were possible.”

  A long, heavy moment passed before Amelia cleared her throat and pasted on a bright smile. “Anyway, now I have you girls.” She turned and put an arm around Katie's shoulders, squeezing gently. “You are all like family to me—and to Andrew. He thinks the world of you girls. Plus we have Sean now. . . plus Travis and his brothers and sisters. Why, our family is actually quite large, when you think about it!”

  When Amelia laughed, Katie joined her. For nearly a minute, they laughed together and this time, when Amelia spoke, she sounded much happier. “Well, Katie, I will let you get back to work now. You have a peach cobbler to make, I believe. And I had better not keep Bella and Ada waiting. We would not want her to be late for the doctor.”

  “Jah.” Katie watched Amelia straighten her shoulders and march over to where the trio stood, still talking and laughing. There was so much going on with her sweet boss that she would never have guessed at. Clearly Mrs. O'Neal has been through much more than I ever knew. No wonder she is such a strong woman.

  Katie said something about getting the cobbler done before Freida arrived, but Mrs. O'Neal was already standing by the talking, laughing trio of women by then.

  A minute later, after the front door had closed behind them and Gwen had moved behind the counter, Katie pushed through the swinging doors into the kitchen and dove back into her baking.

  * * *

  Amelia wasn't sure what to expect when she accompanied Bella to her weekly appointment, but everything quickly fell into place. She and Ada waited outside while Bella went back for the routine checkup, then they were called into the doctor's office for a few minutes.

  “I understand you have a few questions,” the kind-looking, older doctor quietly stated.

  “Yes. Bella works in my bakery,” began Amelia, looking to Bella to be certain she was all right with her boss asking questions of such a personal nature. Bella nodded and Amelia went on “I'm mostly concerned with how long she should continue working. I expected by now she would be taking maternity leave.”

  The doctor smiled and answered. “I understand perfectly. What you have to understand is, as long as her work isn't too strenuous and she doesn't have to lift anyth
ing heavy, Bella can continue to work as long as she is comfortable doing her job. Right up until her due date is fine, as long as she is comfortable with it, or more precisely, until she goes into labor. As long as this is all right with you. . . and she chooses to do so.”

  “I see. Well, we are all trying to make certain she is taking rest breaks, and she is not allowed to pick up or carry anything heavy. I certainly have no problem with her continuing to work as long as she chooses to, and I'm certain the other employees feel the same. I just wanted to be sure, as her employer, that it was all right to allow her to continue working.”

  The doctor smiled then, and went on. “I appreciate your concern. Honestly, I wish more employers had their employee's best interest in mind. Too often, I see young women who—well, never mind.” He waved a hand in the air before going on. “I am glad to see that Bella has such an employer who is considerate of her, especially after everything she has been through.”

  Before Amelia could say anything, Ada stood up. “Amelia, if you're satisfied with the doctor's assurance that Bella can continue to work, I think it's time we let him get back to his other patients.”

  “Yes, of course. Thank you, Doctor.” Amelia stood up and followed Ada and Bella into the hallway.

  “I know you may have other questions, but perhaps this isn't the time and place for them.”

  Amelia could see by the expression on Ada's face that she was hoping Amelia would not press further. Turning to Bella, she only said, “All right. Bella dear, are you ready to leave? Or is there anything else you need to do while you're here?”

  Oddly, Bella looked anything but happy at the moment. “I'm done here. . . ready to get back to work.”

  “Perhaps we should stop for a bite of lunch before taking you back to work, dear. You must keep up your strength.”

  Bella's only response was a terse nod. And, when Amelia looked to Ada, she shook her head slowly back and forth, which was clearly her way of telling Amelia now was not a good time to press Bella.

  Amelia was not ready to give up so easily. And while she didn't want to upset Bella, she had hoped that when Ada had invited her to join them, it would be so that she would find more answers.

  “I suppose we could just go back to the Sweet Shop. I am only thinking of your health and well-being, Bella.” She pushed through the main door of the doctor's office, Ada and Bella right behind her.

  When they reached Bella's car, Amelia turned to look at the two of them. Ada stood there looking at Amelia, and Amelia looked right back at her.

  After a minute, Ada turned to Bella, putting an arm around the young woman. “Bella, I think it's time you confided a little in Amelia. She won't speak of anything you say, not even to Andrew or your friends at work. . . unless you ask her to.” She looked back to Amelia, who nodded her agreement.

  “I know, but it's just so embarrassing to talk about. Would you. . . could you. . . help me?” Bella's cheeks were flushed and Amelia was suddenly concerned. Whatever it was Ada wanted her to confide in Amelia about was certainly not more important than her health.

  “Bella, if you'd rather not talk about it, I will understand. I don't want you to feel that you have to tell me anything you don't want me to know.”

  “No, Miss Ada is right. It's time to tell you.” Bella gave a little shaky laugh. “It's probably way past time to talk to you. I just kept putting it off. But I'd rather talk about it now and get it over and done.”

  “All right, dear. Why don't we go back to my house. I'll have Andrew fix us up a nice, light lunch from Irish Blessings, then after he leaves, we can have our talk.”

  “That sounds nice, doesn't it, Bella?” Ada smiled at Bella, then winked at Amelia as Bella nodded slowly, saying nothing.

  “Let me just call him now and we can eat as soon as we arrive.” Amelia took out her phone and a moment later, Andrew answered. “Andrew dear, would you be so kind as to make up a lunch for Ada, Bella and me. We're going to have lunch at our house before we take Bella back to work.”

  To his credit, if Andrew noticed anything odd in her voice, he did not mention it. He only asked if everyone would like their usual and told Amelia he would be right along, and in less than a minute, she said goodbye and put the phone back into her purse.

  “He is going to drop off the food in a bit. He may even beat us home.” She laughed as she said it, thankful once again to live so close to town.

  By then, they were all in the car, so Ada pulled out of the parking lot and turned toward home.

  — EIGHT —

  Katie was surprised when Mrs. O'Neal called to say that Bella wouldn't be coming back to work. Bella always came back to work after her doctor appointments. . .

  Until now anyway.

  “I hope everything is allrecht. Will she be back tomorrow or did the doctor say that she needs to stop working now?” Katie tried to keep her questions simple, though she secretly hoped that her boss had been able to get some information out of Mrs. Mueller, Bella's doctor or Bella herself about what was really going on with the young woman.

  Amelia was quick to assure her that everything was fine. “Bella's appointment went well. And yes, she will be back to work tomorrow. We stopped for lunch, and afterwards Bella looked a little tired, so I sent her home to rest. I won't be back today, either.” Mrs. O'Neal suddenly sounded very tired, so much so that Katie began to worry about her boss's health as well. “I'll see you tomorrow, dear.”

  Whatever happened today?

  Katie wondered, but she didn't dare ask. She only said goodbye and hung up the phone, looking over at Freida, who was sitting at the counter with a concerned expression of her own. “Mrs. O'Neal says Bella looked tired after they had lunch, so she sent her home to rest. She won't be back today.”

  “Well, that makes sense.” Freida nodded as she answered, and Katie walked over to the sink to wash her hands. “I get tired a lot more often now, and Bella's baby is almost due. She must get tired even more often than I do.” A moment later she added, “I am really surprised that she is still working. When is she going to quit? Did she say?”

  “I don't know. She hasn't said anything to me about quitting.” Katie went back to mixing the cookie dough she had been working on when the phone rang. “I thought Mrs. O'Neal was going to ask the doctor today how much longer Bella can work. . . at least, that was the idea I got from what she said. I guess perhaps we'll find out tomorrow.”

  “I suppose.” Freida seemed oddly satisfied with the answer, which left Katie wondering if she was perhaps a bit overly concerned about Bella and her situation.

  While she stirred the thick dough, and Freida ate her peach cobbler, Katie thought about babies. . . and Bella. . . and about what Anna and her parents had spoken to her about on Sunday. Freida had been right there with her when Anna had spoken so harshly, though she likely had not heard what Mary had told her only moments later. And Katie had not been able to bring herself to share her parents' words with her freind. There was still so much about that conversation that hurt.

  Resisting the urge to rub a hand over her face at the sudden frustration she felt, Katie could not help but think of how absurd it all was. She had enjoyed a wunderbaar evening with Travis on Saturday and then, on Gott's day of all things, her parents had essentially told her they expected her to stop seeing him and quit her job.

  What would Mrs. O'Neal do without me here? She wanted to think that her sweet boss could find someone in the community who could replace her, but the thought of not coming to work at the bakery week after week nearly broke Katie's heart.

  She could not even bear to think about the idea of never seeing Travis again.

  Since Mrs. O'Neal had left with Bella and Ada, Gwen had spent most of her time out front waiting on customers while Katie and Freida had spent most of their time in the kitchen, talking about Katie's date on Saturday.

  Katie didn't mind Gwen hearing about it, but thinking of the possibility that she would have to stop seeing Travis soon, she w
as afraid to let his sister get too attached to the idea of Katie and Travis becoming a more serious couple.

  Heaven knows she has had enough sadness and strife in her young life already.

  It took Katie completely by surprise, when Gwen stepped across the street to pick up lunch for the three girls, and Freida brought up the subject of Anna Miller.

  It did not take long for Katie to realize that now was the time to tell her freind about the talk she'd had with her parents on Sunday evening.

  “Wow!” Freida sat, staring at Katie for nearly a minute before going on. “What are you going to do?”

  “Nothing.” Katie shook her head, only just now realizing that the answer had always been there. “I cannot join the church right now, no matter how much Mamm and Dat. . . or others . . . might want me to.”

  “So. . .” Freida was nodding, but her face was full of uncertainty. ”What happens now? Will you stay in the community? Will you have to leave home?”

  “I don't know. I have put most of the money I made at work in a savings account at the bank, saving for when I get married.”

  Freida nodded and Katie went on. “Mamm and Dat always encouraged me to save money, and there are several people in town who rent small apartments or rooms, so I should be able to support myself well enough if I need to.”

  “Jah, and Mrs. Mueller sometimes has rooms to rent, doesn't she? Bella is only in one of them.” Freida sounded excited for a moment, but by the time she had finished speaking, the excitement had drained away, leaving sadness behind.

  “All of it sounds verrickt to me. I don't want to live alone; I want to be with my family.” Katie could hardly believe she was even thinking about these things. Only two days ago, everything had felt absolutely perfect in her life. Now she was considering moving away from home and being all on her own. “I am beginning to realize why Bella seems sad so often.”