by Naomi Miller
“I'm not sure I know what you mean.” She still sounded unsure and hurt. And though Travis wanted to do anything to keep from hurting her, he knew his message was far more important for her right now than worrying over her feelings.
Clearly, she was much too innocent to understand without him explaining. “What I mean is, we don't want to go so far that we can't stop.”
Katie giggled. “That's silly. We can stop anytime we want to.”
Travis struggled to keep his control. Out in the open, buggies parked only a hundred or so feet from them, it was easier, but something about her behavior from a few minutes ago had lit a fire within him, one that he was having difficulty extinguishing, so he insisted.
“No, it's not silly. There is a place where it is difficult—if not impossible—to stop. You have to remember that there are God-given desires that we are experiencing. . . and they are strong. These things are a part of who we are, and if we are not careful, the drives and instincts could overwhelm us.”
“Is there something wrong with that?”
Clearly, she did not understand.
Travis looked right at her, trying to be certain that his expression told her just how serious he was being in the moment. “It's not a bad thing, at the right time. And if you were thinking a bit more clearly, you might see that. But our bodies are trying to take over and those desires that burn within each of us make us want to keep going so much that we really can't stop ourselves once we let go of the control for more than a second.” Travis realized that his heart was pounding at the thought of losing himself in loving Katie.
Clearly, he needed to make her understand before he took her home. “Please believe me, Katie. I want you, but I love you enough to want to protect you from what could happen if we aren't careful.”
“I am still not sure I understand, but I trust you, so I'll do what you ask me to do.” She shrugged before adding, “Are you taking me home now?”
“Yes, love, I am. And I'll walk you to the door and give you a brief goodnight kiss. . . as it should be. Now give me a hug and I'll take you home.”
Travis wrapped his arms around Katie, giving her a quick hug, then moved to open the car door for her.
— TEN —
“Gudemariye, Katie.” Freida remarked the next morning, as she waited for Katie to unlock the door. “This feels like old times, jah?” Katie nodded as she turned the key in the bottom lock.
A moment later Freida laughed and added, “Except that we both used to walk to work. And this morning, you came with Travis and Gwen in his car, and Thomas brought me in our buggy.”
“Jah, things certainly have changed.” Katie responded, thinking of everything that had changed in both their lives over the last two years. “You won't believe the hard time Travis gave me when I told him I wanted them to drive around to the back and wait in the car while I unlocked the door so we could go in together.”
Before she could say more, Freida burst into laughter! “Look!”
Katie turned to her friend, who was pointing at the bakery window. When she looked in the window, she could hardly believe what she saw.
Travis, Gwen and Thomas were inside the bakery. “They came in the back door.” Freida voiced the conclusion Katie had already come to.
She walked inside and marched straight to Travis, who held up both of his hands as he backed away from her. “I know; you wanted to open the bakery like you used to do when you and Freida worked together, so I came in the back door to check it out.”
Gwen and Freida were both giggling by then, and Katie thought she might have heard a bit of masculine laughter mixed in as well as she confronted Travis.
“Ach, Travis, I know you are trying to help. . .” She tried to not sound as frustrated as she felt. “But everything is allrecht.”
“Yes, it is, and now that I know that, I will feel much better.”
“You should have known that when I told you it would be.” She turned away from him, more than a little annoyed to see that Freida and Thomas and Gwen were watching their exchange.
“I can remember a time when it was not all right, you know.” He said the words softly, but it was not as if she could forget the event he was speaking of, especially since it had played such a large part in bringing them together.
She turned back to face him. “That is not fair and you know it, Travis Davis.” She rushed on when he raised an eyebrow at her, opening his mouth. . . likely to argue. “This is a small town. Things like that do not happen every day like they do in the city. We're safe here.”
“I know that, Katie.” He reached up to wrap his hands gently around her arms. “And I know that you have no idea how rough it can get in the city. . . and I don't really want you to know, either.” He shrugged before continuing. “But, unfortunately, small towns are no longer safe all of the time either.”
When Katie started to speak, he put his finger to her lips. “Sweetheart, I know this was my idea to begin with, but when he found out about it, Andrew said it made him feel more secure. . . and that he'd like me to do it as part of my job here. He takes everyone's safety—including Amelia's—very seriously.”
“So. . . opening the bakery and looking around for any trouble is your job now?” Katie looked up at him. She wanted to believe that was all there was to it, but there was something in his tone that told her there could be more.
“Yep.” A tell-tale red stain was making its way from his ears to his face as he went on. “I didn't tell you. . . well, because I wanted you to feel like I was doing it because I wanted to protect you. That is why I started out doing it. It was just. . . when Andrew found out about it, he made it a part of my job.”
Katie laughed then. He looked so much like what she imagined Bobby would if he were caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Deciding to let him off the hook, she threw her arms around him, squeezing tightly. “What matters to me is why you chose to do it at all. You are my hero, Travis.”
“Aw shucks, ma'am.” Travis drawled, clearly trying to sound like one of the cowboys his brothers loved watching on television, and this time when Freida burst into laughter, everyone joined in. . . even Travis.
When the laughter died down, Thomas folded his arms around his wife, speaking softly to her in between kisses. Travis took advantage of the opportunity to pull Katie close and kiss her as well. Gwen began wiping down the counters.
It was several minutes before Katie pushed away from Travis. “You need to go away now and stop distracting us.” She moved over to the other happy couple and took hold of Freida's hand, pulling her toward the kitchen. “We have a lot to do, and not very much time at all.”
Laughing, Travis and Thomas followed them to the kitchen. Travis even pulled at Katie's apron strings as she tried to tie them. She, in turn, grabbed for a dish towel and pretended to swat at him. He only took the opportunity to pull her close again. “I've got you now, missy!”
Pushing away, her cheeks flushed with color, Katie giggled. “Unhand me, sir. I've got bread to bake.”
The two couples exploded with laughter and it was several minutes before Thomas spoke up. “She's right, Travis. We need to go and let them get to work.” Then he leaned in quickly to kiss his wife on the cheek. “Now don't you be working too hard or lifting anything heavy today.”
Freida smiled widely, giggling again a little. “Don't you be worrying about me, Thomas. Today is going to be fun!” She kissed him and then turned to put her own apron on, adding when she turned back, “I'm sure Katie won't let me lift anything heavy.”
To which Katie nodded, adding, “Absolutely. She is not to lift anything heavier than a bowl of cobbler.”
She smiled at her freind as Freida burst into giggles again. “You buwes go get your work done and let us get to ours.”
“All right. I guess that means I should go, too. Bye, Gwen.” Travis shouted in the direction of his sister.
A moment later, she came through the swinging doors. “Bye, big brother.”
Travis looked around at the others, before he leaned over and kissed Katie again. “I'll be back in a little while to pick up early deliveries.” Katie only smiled after him as he headed for the door, Thomas right behind him.
After the guys left, Gwen headed back out to the front to set up for the day while Katie and Freida began preparations for baking.
It seemed like only a few minutes had passed before Gwen popped back into the kitchen.
“When is Bella coming in?”
“Not until lunchtime.” answered Katie. “She'll watch the front while we take turns going to lunch. And Mrs. O'Neal should be coming in later today as well.”
Gwen nodded. “By the way, Freida, thanks for helping me out front yesterday. What with Bella working less hours and customers buying bread and desserts or placing orders for the weekend, plus the phone ringing every few minutes with more orders, it seemed more like Friday!”
“Jah, and I appreciated your suggestion that I sit on one of the padded stools to take the orders.” Freida remarked to Gwen. “Thomas said that I seemed more tired than usual yesterday. He didn't want me to work today, but I told him I would be fine. He worries too much.”
“But would you even tell us if you needed to rest? Or if you needed to go home?” Gwen interrupted. “I know Mrs. O'Neal has been concerned for you and Bella. You both work so hard. Would you take a break or slow down if you needed to?”
“Jah, of course I would.” Freida reassured them. “Well, I'm pretty sure I would anyway.” She looked over at Gwen before going on, “Amish maedels are used to working hard from the time they're young. . . aren't we, Katie?” Katie nodded and Freida went on. “But I would never do anything to put my bopli in danger.”
Katie was nodding before Freida finished. “Of course not. We know that.” She put a hand over her freind's. “Thomas knows it, too. He is just worrying over you.”
“I think it's sweet.” Gwen added, with a smile.
Katie nodded her agreement. “It is sweet, and it is just the way it should be.”
Gwen turned to Katie then. “OK, when are we going to talk about the party?” She sounded more than a bit impatient. “You said Mrs. O'Neal is coming in this afternoon, and I know we should wait for her, but if Bella is coming in then, too. . .” She left the question hanging and Katie smiled at her.
“I think we should talk about it now, don't you? Besides, soon you will have customers to wait on.” Katie replied.
While the girls had chatted, Katie had been adding ingredients to the large, commercial mixer for nine-grain bread, a favorite of many of their customers. It didn't take long until the dough began to pull away from the hooks, so Katie changed the setting and while the mixer kneaded the dough, she had pulled out the ingredients for peanut butter cookies.
When she had finished scraping the bread dough onto the countertop, she shared her ideas with her two co-workers, while she squeezed and punched and pounded the dough.
“Tomorrow, as soon as the bakery closes, Mr. O'Neal will escort us over to the cafe, where everything will be set up and ready. Sean and Travis are helping to go around and let everyone know about the party.”
“Mamm said she would come.” Freida spoke up. “And she said Mary Zook and Maddie Mae are coming, but she didn't know of anyone else, except for your mamm.” She turned to Katie then.
“Things have been a bit strained at my house lately. Mamm and I don't talk like we used to and from the way she talked, I got the feeling that she wasn't going to come. Then last night, after I had supper with Travis and his family, when he took me home, Mamm was waiting up for me.”
“Uh oh. That doesn't sound gut at all.” Freida sounded worried.
“Wait. What happened? Does Travis know? He didn't say anything about it when he came home.” Gwen looked upset.
“Gwen, everything is fine. When your brother took me home, my mamm fixed us pie and kaffe, chatted a few minutes, then left the room. After Travis finished his pie, we said goodnight and he left.” She shrugged before adding, “It was after I returned to the kitchen that Mamm came back downstairs and we talked. Why do you ask? Wasn't he fine when he got home?”
Gwen looked a bit sheepish then. “Well, actually I was in my room talking to someone on the phone, so I didn't see him when he got home.”
“Who were you talking to so late at night?” Freida asked.
“Just a friend.” The next moment she looked back at Katie. “So what else happened with your mom?”
“Well, she said Mrs. O'Neal had come out to talk to her. . . and that she had convinced her to come to the party. Then she went to talk to Thomas' mamm.” Katie laughed. “She must be very persuasive because Mamm is planning to pick up Ida and Anna and they're all coming together.”
“When I asked him, Thomas wasn't sure if his Mamm was going or not. So you're saying Mrs. O'Neal talked his mamm and sister-in-law into coming?” Freida looked surprised.
“That's what Mamm said. I hope lots of others from the community show up, and bring lots of gifts too. Bella and the baby will need help.” Katie turned her attention to the dough again, separating it into bunches.
After weighing each one, she placed them into loaf pans, covered each one with a clean cloth and set them aside to give them time to rise.
“Freida, if you will begin mixing up the ingredients for snicker-doodles, I'll put the peanut butter cookies into the ovens.”
“For sure, Katie. I love making snicker-doodles.”
Gwen spoke up again, bringing their attention back to the party. “Okay guys, what are we fixing for the party? Do you need any help?”
Katie turned from the big, industrial ovens where the scent of peanut butter was already filling the kitchen.
“Yesterday, Freida and I made our baby shower mints; these are the ones made with cream cheese that everyone seems to love. Then we made some of the regular party mints; the ones made with butter.”
“Are you making a special cake?” Gwen asked.
“Actually, I'm going to go with cupcakes. I think they work better with a crowd. We're hoping for a crowd. . . so we're going to plan for a crowd.”
“I heard that Sean and the others at the cafe are making a bunch of stuff for the party, too.”
Katie wondered at the rosy blush that appeared on Gwen's cheeks, but figured it wasn't the right time to ask questions, so she decided to ignore it for now.
“You heard right. Mr. O'Neal is providing some of the specialties they make for their afternoon teas. . . finger sandwiches with pimento cheese, tuna salad, or egg salad, plus assorted nuts, vegetable trays and cheese trays.”
“Katie, you have to take over some of your cookies! If people from the community are going to be there, they'll want your cookies too.” Gwen sounded insistent.
“I've been making extra cookies for days and freezing them. I'll just take them out of the freezer in the morning and they'll be soft and fresh by the time the party starts.”
“Wow! That's really good thinking.” Gwen jumped when the timer went off.
As Katie began pulling cookies from the ovens, Gwen hurried back out front, even though it wasn't yet time to open.
“Hmm. . . that's strange. What's going on with Gwen?” Freida spoke softly, trying not to be overheard. “She usually stays to help until it's time to open.”
Returning to her duties, Katie shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know. This isn't the first time she's acted a bit different. And today was the most she has talked in a long time. Usually she stays out front and hardly says a word to anyone but the customers.”
“And being on the phone with a freind late at night. Is that normal for young, Englischer maedels?”
“Late-night phone calls might be, but she did seem to change the subject quickly when you asked who she was talking to so late at night.” Katie stopped a moment to think back to her earlier conversation with Travis. “I hope she isn't getting mixed up with the wrong type of freinden at school.”
“Jah,
You and I were already out of school and working part-time at her age.” Freida added. “I wonder if it is just possible that too many of the buwes and maedels get into trouble because they're kept in school longer. Peer pressure seems to be a big part of the problem.”
“Jah, I learned everything I needed to know by the end of eighth grade. I have often thought it is foolishness to stay in school as long as the Englischers do.”
“What more do people learn in school that is needed? Too many kids graduate from regular school and can't get jobs anyway. . . or need more training.”
Katie laughed before answering. “You never cared much for school anyway, Freida.”
“Right. Once I knew my numbers and how to read and write, I was gut. I never cared overmuch about science and history. I just wanted to be a frau and mamm.”
“And now look at you.” Katie teased her.
Laughter filled the room as the two friends continued to prepare what was needed for the day ahead, as well as the special treats for the party.
Katie's Party Mints
Ingredients:
1 cup real butter, softened
32oz powdered sugar
2 tbsp whole milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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 butter and 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add remainder of powdered sugar, blending well.
3. Add milk, vanilla extract and mint extract.
4. To make 4 multiple colors, separate dough into 4 bowls.
5. Add 2-3 drops of food coloring to each bowl and mix until desired color.
6. Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper.
7. Form dough into 1” balls; place on pan.
8. Flatten each ball with the tines of a fork.
9. Refrigerate until ready to serve.