With a nonchalant shrug, Nicole stepped inside. “I’ve been okay, I guess.”
“You’re the first one here, so why don’t you come with me to the kitchen? We can visit while I finish getting things set out.”
Silently, Nicole followed Heidi into the kitchen and plunked down in a chair at the oversized table.
“Would you like something cold to drink? There’s a pitcher of lemonade in the refrigerator.”
Nicole shook her head. “No thanks.”
It didn’t take a genius to realize the girl wasn’t eager to carry on a conversation, but Heidi felt compelled to keep trying. “Have you done any cooking these past couple weeks?”
“I cook every meal at my house, but none are very tasty.” Nicole’s forehead wrinkled. “At least that’s what my brother and sister say about the things I fix for them. They don’t appreciate anything I do.”
In an effort to make Nicole feel better, Heidi touched the girl’s shoulder. “Sometimes people appreciate what we do but forget to say thanks.”
“Yeah, maybe. My dad says thanks once in a while, but he’s got a lot of other stuff on his mind.” Nicole puffed out her cheeks. “Oh, and by the way, I forgot to bring an apron again.”
“It’s fine. You can wear one of mine.” Heidi was on the verge of saying more, when another vehicle pulled into the yard. She glanced at the clock. It was five minutes to ten. Soon everyone would be here and her second cooking class would begin.
Once everyone else arrived and had removed their wet outer garments, Heidi asked them to take seats at the kitchen table. “Today we will be making Amish friendship bread.” She went on to explain that in order to make the bread, a starter must first be prepared. “You will be able to keep part of the starter and give part of it to a couple of friends.” Heidi picked up a bowl that had been covered with plastic wrap. “You will notice by the texture and smell that this starter is slightly fermented.” She showed each student the fresh batch from the bowl in her hands.
Bill wrinkled his nose. “If I fed that putrid-looking stuff to my hunting buddies, they wouldn’t be my friends very long.”
Heidi bit back a chuckle. “No one’s expected to eat the starter. Only a small portion of it will be added to the other ingredients to make the friendship bread.” She set the starter down and handed out recipe cards, as well as the necessary ingredients, along with small bowls and utensils for everyone.
Looking at each of the students, she smiled. “When you leave here today, in addition to the bread you will make, I’ll give all of you a small amount of starter.”
Todd’s brows furrowed as he leaned his elbows on the table and stared at the yeasty-smelling dough. “What are we supposed to do with the stuff when we take it home?”
“We’re gonna use it to make more friendship bread.” Bill tapped Todd’s shoulder. “If you don’t have any friends you can make some new ones by giving them a loaf of the tasty bread.”
Todd scowled at him. “How do you know it’s tasty? We haven’t even made it yet.”
Bill puffed out his chest. “I have every confidence that our cooking teacher would not give us any recipe that wasn’t good.”
“Thank you, Bill.” Heidi was pleased he had such confidence in her. Hopefully everyone’s bread would turn out well.
Lisa glanced around the table. Except for Todd, who looked thoroughly disgusted, everyone else seemed eager to learn how to make friendship bread—although Allie appeared preoccupied.
She’d never say anything to Heidi, but Lisa was a bit disappointed. She had hoped that today they would learn how to make a casserole or some type of supper dish she could use in her catering business. And to be truthful, Lisa never liked getting involved in chain-type letters, which this friendship bread reminded her of—passing the starter from one person to another.
Hopefully during the next four classes, they’d be given something better to make. She stared at the starter. Maybe I could make this recipe for the holidays, to give family members or someone from church.
Lisa held her fist to her mouth, hoping to stifle a yawn. She wondered if the rainy weather added to her feeling extra tired this morning.
Sitting up straighter and leaning forward, she tried to concentrate. She’d slept pretty well the first part of last night—until four thirty this morning, when the puppy next door started howling. If this went on any longer with her tenants, Lisa had made up her mind to say something. She’d been hoping the situation would have remedied itself by now, but it was worse than ever. The poor puppy needed more attention and exercise after being locked up all day alone. When Lisa arrived home the other evening, she saw Gail open her front door and let the dog out by itself. With no supervision of any sort, the puppy sniffed around for a while and did what it had to do. Lisa was glad it stayed away from the street. How sad it would be if the pup got hit by a car. When the poor thing wanted in, it sat on their door step barking and yipping to no avail. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the dog was let back inside.
Now who would leave a little puppy outside all by itself? Lisa would surely never do that. Some people just shouldn’t own pets. Her neighbors were proving to be irresponsible, and she regretted having rented to them.
Lisa looked over at Heidi’s dog, lying by the kitchen door. It was content in sleep and appeared to be oblivious to everyone in the room. Rusty was well-behaved and always listened to Heidi’s commands. Lisa watched as the dog stretched, opened his eyes, and closed them again. Now there is a dog that is obviously loved and well cared for.
Everyone laughed at something Heidi had said, and Lisa snapped to attention. I’d better listen to what is going on, so I don’t miss something important and end up doing something stupid and make a fool of myself.
Chapter 13
Allie had a hard time concentrating on the cooking lesson. She kept thinking about Steve, and how she’d seen him in the mall parking lot on Sunday with the cute little blond patrol officer. She’d planned to talk to him about it but changed her mind. He’d probably say she was overreacting or had become paranoid. Well, if I am, there’s good reason. My insecurity or vulnerability being married to an officer of the law could be rearing its ugly head right now.
Steve had accused Allie of overreacting many times—especially where his safety was concerned. When did he start filling in for a coworker and working later hours or volunteering to work on his days off? Was it when Lori Robbins started working on the force? Allie wished now she’d made a mental note of it but felt bad after thinking things through a bit more. She didn’t want to draw any conclusions or become suspicious about her husband. A good marriage should involve trust. She’d need to make sure she didn’t sound accusing if she and Steve had a discussion about this. Allie had a tendency to say the first thing that came to her mind, which often got her in trouble with him.
Maybe it’s me. Have I let myself go? Am I putting on weight that I just don’t see? Allie reached up and brushed her hair back off her face. I could probably use a fresh style, or maybe a complete makeover like I’ve seen on one of those TV shows, where they take a plain-looking woman and transform her into a beauty queen.
Forcing her contemplations aside, Allie tried to focus on what Heidi was saying. Unfortunately, making friendship bread held little appeal. Allie had hoped for a new supper dish she could make for Steve and the children. She wouldn’t say anything to Heidi, however. It wouldn’t be right to hurt her feelings. Maybe, when they came to the next class, Heidi would show them how to make something Allie could fix more often. Guess I can share a loaf of friendship bread with some of my friends at work. I don’t want that starter to go to waste.
Bill put his loaf pan full of dough into the oven, placing it next to Nicole’s. I wonder what would happen if I gave a loaf of friendship bread to the irritating English teacher at the high school. He puckered his lips. If it was from anybody else, she might appreciate the gesture, but coming from me, I bet she’d throw it in the trash. That feist
y old lady probably wouldn’t accept anything I offered, even if it was served on a fancy gold platter. Don’t know why she has it in for me. I’ve always been polite to her, even when she got under my skin.
Bill returned to his seat at the kitchen table to wait for his bread to bake. He glanced over at Lance, who sat beside him and smiled. “Bet with you bein’ a mail carrier, you’ll have plenty of people you can give friendship bread or starter to.”
Lance shrugged. “Yeah, maybe so. I may make some for my two daughters, though. I think they’d enjoy sharing this recipe and bread with their families, as well as passing it along to others. My brother might even enjoy it.”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Just the one. Dan’s a few years older than me, and right now he’s living at my house. It’s only temporary—just until his townhouse is fully remodeled. I have a younger sister, too.” Lance motioned to Bill. “How ’bout you? Do you have any siblings?”
“I don’t have any sisters, but I do have three brothers.” Bill blew out his breath. “They all live in Cleveland, and we don’t see each other much.”
“That’s too bad.”
“It’s okay.” Bill shrugged. “I have some good buddies who live near me. We do a lot together throughout the year. In fact, we’re heading out to do some camping at my cabin in Coshocton soon.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“We have a good time, but it would be nice if even one of my brothers would join us sometime.” Bill frowned. “None of ’em are the outdoorsy type, though. You’re lucky to have a brother living close to you. I wouldn’t mind if one of my brothers lived with me, even if it was only temporary. It might give me a chance to turn them on to hunting.”
“Yeah,” Lance gave a quick nod.
Bill figured none of his brothers would be interested in the friendship bread, but he wished he had a daughter to give a loaf. His only child, Brent, was single and also lived in Cleveland, but he probably wouldn’t want any friendship bread. Since Bill was divorced, he really had no one to share the recipe with. Someday, maybe his son would get married and he could give the recipe to Brent’s wife.
Bill’s jaw clenched. It’ll have to be Brent’s wife if he ever marries ’cause I’m sure not getting married again. I’m doin’ fine by myself.
He thought about his hunting buddies. If the friendship bread tasted good, he’d make a few more loaves and give one each to Tom, Russ, and Andy. That oughta show those fellows I can make something other than the same old hunter’s stew. Bill brushed away some flour clinging to his apron. I wonder what it was like for the cooks back in the Wild West during one of those trail drives. I bet those cowboys weren’t as picky as my longtime friends who like to complain about minor things.
Bill looked across the table, where Nicole sat with her head down as though studying something on the floor. The teenage girl hadn’t said more than a few words since Heidi started teaching the class this morning. What was her problem anyway? Was she thinking about the troubles she had at school, or could Nicole have some serious difficulties at home she had to deal with?
Sure wish there was something I could do to help her. Trouble is, I can barely get the gal to look at me.
Nicole tried to concentrate, but all she could think about was the test Mrs. Wick sprung on them Friday in English class. Nicole shouldn’t have been surprised though, since the teacher had hinted several times about reading certain chapters. She’d been staying after school for help from Mrs. Wick, then coming home and working on the assignments while it was still fresh in her mind. Nicole had a lot to do yet to get her grades up—not just in English, but in other classes as well. It was partly her fault for not seeking help before.
Nicole sighed deeply, then looked around quickly to see if anyone noticed. The last thing she wanted was for anyone in the class, or even Heidi, to ask her if anything was wrong.
She realized something had to be done about her grades, and Nicole sure didn’t want to retake any of those classes. But how could she devote more time to her studies with all the responsibilities she had at home? Her dad had been trying to come home earlier so she could study more, and he’d made her siblings do a few duties around the house to lessen Nicole’s load. In fact, he’d even made a list for Heather and Tony that included some housecleaning and picking up after themselves. He was trying to help her have more time to get her grades up, but she still was stuck with cooking all the meals.
Sure wish I could be like so many other kids my age who have two normal parents. They don’t realize how lucky they are.
Mondays were the hardest, going back to school, when she had to listen to fellow students talk about their weekends. Nicole and her family rarely went anywhere exciting or did fun things together; it was normally the same old routine. So sometimes while sitting there listening to her classmates, she would envision herself doing what they talked about during their weekend. It didn’t help much.
Maybe getting an interesting book to read would help take me away from my real life. Guess I could go see what our school library has to offer during lunch one day.
Nicole thought about all the events going on at school, such as the football games that took place most Friday nights. When there wasn’t a game, a dance was held in the school’s gymnasium. On Saturdays, some of the students liked to hang out at the sub shop located on the corner near the school. The homecoming football game and dance were coming up, but Nicole wouldn’t be going to those events, either. She thought the world of her dad, as well as her brother and sister, but all because of her so-called mother, Nicole was missing out on the best years of her life.
For now, Nicole had to figure out a way to keep Friday’s test results from her dad. She didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know she’d failed the test miserably. I will have to study harder for the next test. Guess I’ll be getting another talking to from Mrs. Wick after class on Monday. I sure hope she doesn’t e-mail Dad again or ask to speak to him in person.
When the oven door was opened, releasing a sweet cinnamon aroma, Heidi’s whole kitchen smelled so good, it made Todd’s mouth water. He looked at all the golden loaves, with hot steam rising off their tops, and licked his lips in anticipation of eating a piece. The bread reminded him of the type of thing he often ordered to go with his latte at the local coffee shop.
Once everyone’s loaf of friendship bread had been taken from the oven and placed on the counter to cool, Heidi gave each of them a three-by-five card with the recipe for the bread, as well as a small amount of starter. Curious to see if there was another scripture verse on the back, Todd turned his over. Sure enough, there it was: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8).
His brows furrowed. I don’t need the Lord to guide or teach me how I should go. I’ll set my own course, thank you very much. Todd wasn’t even sure there was a God, let alone a need to call upon Him for anything.
Heidi stood at the head of the table, facing everyone. “Before you all leave today, I would like to share a few more helpful hints with you. When freezing foods, label each container with its contents and the date it was put into the freezer. Always use foods that have been cooked and then frozen within one to two months.”
Allie bobbed her head. “Those are good points which I’m already aware of.”
“Mind if I add something to the topic of freezing foods?” Lisa asked.
Heidi smiled. “Not at all.”
“You should never freeze cooked egg whites, because they will become tough.”
Todd turned to face her. “Is that something you learned the hard way in your catering business?”
She gave a slow nod. “I’ll admit, I’ve had a few bloopers along the way, but for the most part, things have gone well with my enterprise.”
“Do you cater a variety of events?” The question came from Nicole, which was a surprise, since she’d been quiet most of the class.
�
�Yes, and in fact, I’ll be catering a wedding next Saturday night. I’ll be working on the cake for it this coming week.” Lisa’s dimples deepened as she gave a wide smile. Todd thought she was kind of cute. He still didn’t know if she was married and needed to figure out the best way to find out. He sure wasn’t going to make a play for her if she had a husband, or even a boyfriend.
“That’s wonderful,” Heidi said. “Will you be taking pictures of the cake?”
“Yes, definitely.”
The mention of a wedding caused Todd to recall that he’d been invited to attend the wedding of an acquaintance next week. It was the owner of a restaurant he’d written a good review about. The guy’s name was Shawn, and after getting to know Todd from coming into his restaurant several times, they’d become fairly well acquainted. Now Shawn and his business partner, Melanie, were getting married.
Todd leaned his elbows on the table. The parents of Shawn’s future wife were quite well-to-do. I bet whomever they hire to cater their daughter’s wedding will be some top-notch caterer with a lot of experience behind them. The food will probably be worthy of a five-star review.
Chapter 14
Dover
Lisa had worked hard all week, finalizing the wedding reception she was catering this evening. All weddings were important, and she treated each as such. So far, those she had been hired to do had turned out pretty well. In fact, each one seemed to get better. Lisa continually worked to improve her catering business, and this evening’s reception would be no exception.
She felt pleased after she’d set everything up. The food tables were arranged in a buffet-style setting. The bride and groom had requested a few items they both enjoyed eating: Chicken fingers, several kinds of chips, and a sandwich platter as well. Lisa had also provided macaroni and potato salads. Fresh vegetables were arranged on a huge platter surrounding a ranch dip. Pineapple, cantaloupe, and honeydew, along with orange and apple slices had been neatly arranged on a three-tiered sterling silver fruit stand that belonged to the bride’s grandmother.
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