A Place at Our Table

by Amy Clipston

  “Were you able to save the barn?” Cindy placed a few pieces of bacon onto her plate and then handed the platter to Jamie.

  “Danki,” Jamie said before dropping a handful of pieces onto his own plate. “No. Barns just go up too quickly.”

  “Oh. Right.” Cindy’s cheeks flushed bright pink. “That was a dumb question.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” Jamie smiled at her. “You wouldn’t have known.”

  Cindy shrugged and trained her eyes on her plate.

  “I wonder if they’ll have a barn raising. If they do, we should go help.” Mark bit into a piece of bacon.

  “That’s a great idea,” Dat chimed in. “Maybe you can go by their farm and ask, Jamie.”

  Laura tapped her fork on her plate. “Maybe we’ll bake a couple of apple pies for it. What do you think, Mamm?”

  “Ya, we can do that,” Mamm agreed before lifting her mug of coffee. “I’ll have to go shopping to get the ingredients. We’re running low on some supplies.”

  Jamie cupped his hand to his mouth to shield a yawn.

  “You should take a nap.” Mamm pointed her fork at Jamie. “You look wiped out.”

  “I’m fine.” Jamie scooped a forkful of egg into his mouth.

  “I said the same thing to him, but he insists he’ll sleep tonight,” Mark quipped. “You know how stubborn he is.”

  “We all know that,” Laura retorted.

  “I have things to do. I don’t have time to sleep until tonight.” Jamie lifted his mug as the twins shared a knowing look. They often enjoyed ganging up on him and Cindy. At times they acted as though they were their own separate family unit inside the Riehl family.

  “Mark, I do have a favor to ask you before you go out to work in the barn.” Mamm poured more coffee into her mug.

  “Ya, Mamm. What is it?”

  “The banister on the basement steps is loose again. Would you take a look at it?”

  Jamie set his fork beside his half-clean plate. “We should replace it. We’ve tried to fix it more than once. I think it’s time to just put up a new banister.”

  “That’s a gut idea.” Mark buttered a roll.

  “So what’s on the agenda for today, Dat?” Jamie asked.

  “We need to finish planting the corn this morning. And we need to make a supply run this afternoon.” He pointed to the counter. “I have a list for the hardware store over there.”

  Jamie looked at Mark. “You and I can go. We can take my buggy. Maybe we can have lunch in town.”

  “Okay.” Mark set his knife on his empty plate. “Are you ready to get our chores done before we start planting?”

  “Ya,” Jamie said. “I’ll get changed and then we can get to work.”

  Kayla covered her mouth against a yawn as she stepped out of the kitchen. The dining room in her family’s restaurant was already half full with lunch customers, and as if they hadn’t had a barn fire hours earlier, their day had so far been typically busy. While her parents cooked, Kayla waitressed with Eva. Nathan bussed tables and washed dishes. Unencumbered by responsibility, Junior was currently asleep in the portable crib they’d installed in the office.

  Glancing at the clock on the wall, Kayla stifled a moan. It was only one o’clock, which meant she had six more hours before the restaurant closed and she could go home and relax. How was she going to make it through the rest of this day with only two hours of sleep?

  The front door opened and closed, the bell attached to it announcing new customers. Kayla hurried to the hostess podium, and without really looking at the two men standing there, she bent down to reach two menus from the shelf underneath.

  “Welcome to Dienner’s Family Restaurant. Will there be two of you dining today?” When she looked up, she came face-to-face with James Riehl. She felt her eyes widen, unable to stop them. “James?”

  “Kayla.” James’s eyebrows careened toward his hairline. “Hi.” He wore a blue shirt that complemented his soulful blue eyes. And with his black trousers, suspenders, and a straw hat, today he looked Amish. The look suited him.

  He jammed his thumb toward the front glass etched with the restaurant name. “I didn’t realize your family owned this restaurant. I’ve never been here before.”

  “Ya, my parents opened it when they were first married almost thirty years ago.” She reflexively touched her prayer covering to make sure it was straight. Why was she suddenly worried about how she looked?

  When she glanced at the man standing next to James, she found he wore an amused expression. “Are you going to introduce me to your freind?”

  “Kayla, this is mei bruder, Mark.” James gestured to each of them. “Mark, this is Kayla Dienner.”

  “Hi.” Mark continued to grin as he shook Kayla’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” Kayla hugged the menus to her chest as she studied the two brothers. They bore a family resemblance with a similar shape to their faces, but James’s jaw was dimpled. She guessed he was a year or two older than Mark. Kayla shook herself from her thoughts and cleared her throat.

  “Well, you two came here to eat and not chat with me,” she said. “Why don’t I seat you?”

  “That sounds great.” Mark rubbed his hands together. “I heard the meat loaf here is the best.”

  “Ya, mei mamm has a great recipe. It’s one of our most popular dishes.” She started walking to the far end of the dining room. “Please follow me.”

  Self-consciousness pushed Kayla faster as she led the men to a table. Last night she’d done her best to avoid James after retreating into the kitchen and taking her time mixing up more lemonade. Then when she emerged back outside, she deliberately spoke to other firefighters until Jamie’s crew packed up their truck and headed back to their station. She’d been sure that would be the last time she’d see James Riehl.

  Wait a minute. She hadn’t put it together last night, but his fire truck had Station 5 painted on it. That had been Simeon’s station. That’s where Brody and James were both volunteering? The station just down the street? Why had she never seen either of them in here before?

  Now questions about James’s family swirled through her mind. Last night he’d mentioned he would be devastated if he lost one of his siblings. How many siblings did he have? And why did she care to know more about him?

  She pushed the questions out of her head as she set the menus on their table and stood to one side. “Will this table work for you?” She fished her notepad and pencil from her apron pocket.

  “This is perfect.” Mark grinned at her as they slid into their seats, and then he turned his attention to the menu.

  She opened her mouth to tell them the day’s specials, but James cut her off.

  “How are you?”

  The concern in his expression stole her words for a moment.

  “I’m fine, danki.” She poised her pencil on her notepad. “May I get you something to drink?”

  “Did you get any sleep before you had to come to work?”

  She looked at him for a moment. Why did he care if she got any sleep last night? “I slept for about two hours.” She shrugged. “I’m fine.”

  Mark looked up from the menu, a confused look on his face. “Sounds like you both are going to pass out tonight. I don’t know how you’re standing up. I’m a mess if I don’t get my required seven hours of sleep.”

  “Oh.” She needed to change the subject to something less personal. “The lunch special today is a pork barbecue sandwich with French fries. What would you like to drink? I can give you a few minutes to decide what to order if you want.”

  “I’ll take a Coke.” Mark perused the menu once more. “And I’d like the meat loaf platter with a side of buttered noodles.”

  She wrote quickly and then took his menu. “Okay.”

  Then she looked at James, who flipped through the menu before looking up at her.

  “I’ll have the same.” He handed her the menu.

  “You want a Coke too?” she asked.

/>   “Ya, please.” He smiled, and her heart thumped.

  “I’ll bring your drinks right out,” she muttered before rushing off to the kitchen.

  Why is this man I hardly know having such a strong effect on me? I must be losing my mind.

  FIVE

  “You’ve been holding out on me.” Mark leaned toward Jamie and raised his eyebrows. “Who is Kayla, why haven’t you told me about her, and why did you want to know how she slept last night?”

  “I haven’t been holding out on you.” Jamie watched Kayla disappear through one side of two swinging doors. “I just met her last night at the fire.”

  Mark snapped his fingers. “Oh, right. Dienner. So her bruder is the one who died in the fire last year.”

  “Right.” Jamie kept his focus on the doors, awaiting her return. She looked pretty in her blue dress and black apron, with her golden hair peeking out from under a prayer covering. When he noticed the dark circles under her eyes, he felt compelled to ask her how she was feeling, and she seemed surprised by the question. He longed to be her friend, but that was impossible given her feelings toward him.

  “You should ask her out.”

  “What?” Jamie’s attention snapped to his brother.

  “I said you should ask her out.” Mark chuckled. “Why are you looking at me like I’m narrisch?”

  “Because you are crazy.” Jamie pulled a paper napkin from the metal holder in the center of the table and began to fold it. “She doesn’t like me.”

  “Then she fooled me.” Mark gestured in the direction of the kitchen. “Didn’t you see her face when she recognized you? I thought her eyes were going to fall out of her head.”

  “She was just surprised to see me.” Jamie shrugged and stared at the napkin as he folded it over and over again.

  “You like her.”

  Jamie sighed. “No, I don’t like her. I don’t even know her.”

  “You could get to know her.” Mark leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. “Listen. I know how maed work. They want you to pursue them. You just have to show interest. Ask her out.”

  “Trust me.” Jamie shook his head. “She won’t go out with me.”

  “Why are you so sure?” Mark lifted an eyebrow.

  “She made it clear last night when she told me to stay away from her younger bruder.”

  “What did you do?”

  Jamie told him. “So I don’t think she’d go out with me.”

  “You won’t know until you ask her.” Mark tapped the table. “Trust me. I know. The maed love me because I give them attention. You just need to talk to her. Tell her how schee she is, and she’ll want to go out with you.”

  Jamie set the napkin next to the holder. His brother definitely knew what he was talking about when it came to women. It always amazed Jamie to watch the young women flock to him when he went to youth gatherings. All he had to do was smile and say hello and they followed him in droves. He had a gift when it came to attracting women, a gift Jamie had never possessed. Not that Jamie wanted to attract so many women. He’d always thought he’d find that one woman meant for him . . . someday.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Jamie glanced down at the folded napkin. “I don’t have time to date anyway.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “You know how busy my life is.” Jamie looked up at his brother’s shocked expression. “Between keeping up with the chores on the farm and volunteering at the station, I don’t have time for a maedel right now.”

  Mark frowned. “You need to make time. You’re almost thirty. Don’t you want to get married and have a family? That’s what we’re called to do.”

  “Stop being dramatic.” Jamie threw the folded napkin at Mark, who caught it with lightning-fast reflexes. “I’m only twenty-five.”

  “James!”

  Jamie turned to see Nathan rushing over to their table. “Oh, hi, Nathan.”

  “I didn’t realize you were here.” Nathan rested a large plastic tub full of dirty dishes and utensils on the edge of their table and turned to Mark. “Hi.” He shook Mark’s hand.

  Jamie introduced them. “This is mei bruder, Mark. Mark, this is Kayla’s bruder, Nathan.”

  “It’s great to meet you.” Mark grinned. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Jamie resisted the urge to kick Mark under the table. The last thing he wanted was to encourage Nathan.

  “Are you a firefighter too?” Nathan asked.

  Jamie inwardly groaned.

  “No, I’m not.” Mark gestured at Jamie. “Mei bruder is the only firefighter in our family. He joined with a group of his freinden when they were teenagers. Mei freinden are more into camping.”

  “Oh.” Nathan turned to Jamie. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

  “No, although I’m now stationed down the street when I’m on duty, this is my first time. I just don’t get out for lunch too often. Mark and I are in town today to get some supplies for our dairy farm, and he wanted to try it here.”

  “Great. So you were saying I could start training. I talked to mei daed about it, and he said we could discuss it. Do you know when the classes start?”

  Jamie rubbed his chin as he mentally debated his response. “I’m not so sure it’s a gut idea for us to talk about this.”

  Nathan’s forehead furrowed. “Why not?”

  “Because your schweschder said I should stay away from you.”

  “Why would she say that?”

  “She doesn’t want me to discuss firefighting with you, and I don’t want to upset her.” Jamie looked toward the kitchen doors in search of Kayla. Relief flooded him when he didn’t see her. “It’s probably best if we don’t talk.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Nathan scowled. “She thinks I’m going to get hurt because our bruder, Simeon, was a firefighter and died during a rescue.” He pointed at Jamie. “But you’ve been volunteering since you were sixteen. Not every firefighter gets hurts.”

  Jamie grimaced. “No, not everyone gets hurt, but I can understand her fear.”

  “She can’t stop me if Dat says it’s okay. She’s not my boss, even though she thinks she is.” Nathan glanced back toward the kitchen and then looked at Jamie. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if she gets angry. She can’t control what I discuss with mei freinden. We are freinden, right?”

  “Ya, sure we are.” Jamie stole a glance at Mark, who raised his eyebrows and grinned.

  Nathan leaned on the edge of the table. “What was your most memorable call?”

  Jamie blew out a deep sigh as his years of volunteering swept through his mind. He settled back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest as he considered his answer.

  After giving her parents James’s and Mark’s orders, Kayla filled two plastic cups with chopped ice and added Coke. She was setting the cups on a tray when Eva walked up behind her.

  “Are you okay?” Eva asked.

  “I’m fine. Why?” Kayla lifted the tray.

  “You seem—I don’t know—stressed.” Eva studied her. “Is something wrong?” She pointed toward the doors that led to the dining area. “Is a customer hassling you like the guy who came in last week and said his steak was too pink?”

  “No, no, it’s not that.”

  “So what is it?” Eva rested one hand on her hip. “Kayla, I’ve known you for six years. I can tell when you’re keeping the truth from me. Go ahead and tell me. You’ll feel better when you get it off your chest.”

  Kayla blew out a deep breath. She and Eva weren’t related by blood, but Eva was like the older sister she’d always wanted.

  “Fine. One of the firefighters from last night is here. He’s having lunch with his bruder.”

  “Really?” Eva’s eyes brightened. “Was he one of Simeon’s freinden?”

  “No.” Kayla paused. How could she explain who James was without going into their whole conversation about Nathan’s dream of volunteering? “He was the one who saved Nathan.”

  “Really?�
�� Now Eva’s whole face lit up. “We need to tell Dat. We should comp his meal.” She started toward the main cooking area. “Mamm! Dat! You’ll never guess who came in for lunch.”

  Kayla took that opportunity to head back out to the dining area. She didn’t want to tell Eva about her conversation with James. Eva would probably insist it was rude of her to say James should stay away from Nathan after his heroics.

  Her feet slowed when she spotted Nathan leaning on James’s table, listening intently as James spoke. She bit her lower lip. Surely James wasn’t encouraging Nathan again.

  “I bet that was scary,” Nathan was saying as she approached them.

  “Ya, it was, but I followed the hose back and found my way out of the building. That’s the best way to—” James glanced up at Kayla. “You’re back.”

  Kayla handed James and Mark their drinks, and Nathan stood up straight and faced her.

  “Did you clean those tables over in the corner?”

  “I was on my way over there.” Nathan lifted the plastic container. “I wanted to say hi to James first.”

  “You need to clean them before more customers come in. It’s going to get busy.” She pointed toward the dirty tables. “Go on.”

  Nathan glared at her and then turned toward James and Mark. “I’ll try to come see you before you leave.”

  As Nathan walked away with a slight limp, Kayla moved her attention to James. “I hope you weren’t encouraging him to pursue volunteering.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” James held up his hands in defense, and it only made her anger boil. “Nathan asked me about my most memorable calls, and I told him. I didn’t encourage him at all.” He looked at his brother as if for support. “Did I?”

  “Nope, he didn’t.” Mark took a long drink.

  Kayla had the suspicion Mark was shielding a smile. Why would he find this humorous? This was a serious subject.

  “I don’t want you to encourage mei bruder,” she reminded James as she rested the tray under her arm. “He looked up to Simeon even before he died, and now I think he’s searching to find someone to take Simeon’s place in his life. I don’t think firefighting is the right path for him.”