Amish Cooking Class--The Blessing

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

New Philadelphia

  Allie stood in front of her bedroom window, staring at the blackened sky. It seemed like the stars were hung on invisible threads. Like so many other Sundays, she and the children had spent the day without Steve. Why couldn’t he get the weekends off once in a while to be with his family? Didn’t he care enough about her and the kids to want to spend time with them?

  Her thoughts went once again to the female officer she’d seen Steve with a couple of weeks ago. Allie couldn’t help thinking the pretty blond had something to do with him working so many hours. I wonder how he’d respond if I asked. She gripped the windowsill until her fingers felt numb. Even if it were true, I’m sure he would deny it. Steve would most likely make up some excuse.

  Allie glanced at the clock on the table beside their bed. It was almost ten o’clock. Steve should be home by now. Should I be worried about his safety or concerned that he’s up to no good?

  The bedroom door clicked open and shut, casing Allie to jump. She whirled around in time to see her husband stroll across the room. He slipped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck with his cold nose. “Sorry I’m late.”

  Allie breathed a sigh of relief. Steve was back home, safe and sound. But now the other doubts replaced her fears.

  “How’d your day go, honey? Did you and the kids do anything fun?”

  “No, not really. After I picked them up from Sunday school, we had an early lunch. Then Nola and Derek spent the rest of the day watching TV while I read a mystery novel.” Allie’s voice quavered. “The day would have been a lot more fun if you’d been here to share it with us.”

  “Sorry. You know I had to work.”

  No, I don’t know that. I only know you said you had to work. She turned to face the window again.

  Steve put his hand on her shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

  How could it be okay when you’re hardly ever at home? Allie merely shrugged in response to his question. There was no point going over this again. Steve knew how she felt about him working long hours—often when it wasn’t necessary.

  As he stood quietly beside her, she heard his heavy breathing against her ear.

  Gathering her nerve, she turned to him and voiced a question that needed to be asked. “Do you still love me, Steve?”

  “Of course I do, Allie. Why would you even ask me that?”

  The words stuck in her throat, and she shrugged again. Truth was, as much as she wanted to know if he was having an affair, she feared the answer. If Steve had been unfaithful, would he want a divorce? How would the children be affected if their parents split up?

  “I’m not scheduled to work next weekend, so maybe we can do something fun with the kids.”

  She looked at him hopefully. “Really? What if someone wants you to cover for them again?”

  “I’ll say no.”

  Allie hugged her husband tightly, her doubts disappearing, at least for the moment. She could only hope Steve meant what he’d said and would stay true to his word.

  Walnut Creek

  As Lance stood in front of the bathroom mirror, preparing to brush his teeth, he paused to look at the red heart-shaped tattoo on his right arm. His wife’s name was featured in the middle of the heart, done in dark blue ink. Every time Lance looked at the tattoo, he was reminded of how much he missed Flo. He missed her all the time, but even more since Dan had moved in with him. Flo would have been a buffer.

  A muscle on the side of Lance’s neck quivered, thinking about his brother’s latest irritation. Dan had a habit of raiding the refrigerator at night, after Lance had gone to bed. Lance would get up in the morning and find dirty dishes in the sink, and sometimes food would be left on the kitchen counter or table. Growing up, he hadn’t realized his brother was such a slob. Of course, back then, either Mom or their sister, Evelyn, did the cleaning. No doubt they picked up after Dan, so Lance hadn’t noticed his brother’s messy habits.

  He curled his fingers around his toothbrush handle. Well, I’m noticing them now, and if it were anyone else but my flesh-and-blood brother, I’d ask him to leave—pronto!

  To make matters worse, Dan came home the other day with one of those new-fangled flat screen TVs. “I am no more interested in one of those things than I would be with a smart phone,” Lance grumbled out loud, as if it would make him feel better. His old TV may be old-fashioned, but it worked fine. Now he’d have to call someone to have it removed and the new one hooked up. Maybe he would suggest Dan return the new flat screen. But then, that would probably hurt his brother’s feelings.

  Lance clenched his jaw. At last report, Dan’s townhouse renovations weren’t even half done. So unfortunately, it would be a while before he moved out of Lance’s house.

  Lance squeezed the rest of the toothpaste from the tube and went over his teeth again for good measure. Unless I can think of someplace else for my brother to live, guess I’m stuck with him awhile longer. Now if I could just come up with some way to cope.

  Chapter 19

  With only one more week left in October, Heidi couldn’t believe it was almost time for her students to arrive for the third cooking class. Today she would be teaching them to make Chicken in a Crumb Basket—a favorite main dish that had been passed down from her husband’s family and enjoyed by everyone Heidi had prepared it for since she’d married Lyle.

  Heidi spread the recipe notecards on the table, taking the time to write the verse she’d chosen to share on the back of each card. “If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). She wasn’t sure who among her students this scripture was meant for, but God had laid it on her heart to choose this particular verse to go with today’s lesson.

  Pausing from her work to glance out the kitchen window, Heidi focused on the haze sliding over the landscape. The colors of the few leaves remaining on the trees in their yard appeared muted by the morning fog. It was nothing unusual for Holmes County—especially this time of the year. Mist formed at night and in the early morning hours, when the temperatures dipped and the air became filled with moisture. Heidi didn’t mind the fog, except for the unpleasant feel of cold and damp, combined with visibility restrictions. Fog, or even a light mist, could play with a person’s sense of direction and make landmarks unrecognizable. This is what she feared the most whenever Lyle took the horse and buggy on the road in blurry weather conditions. Fortunately, her husband’s driver had picked him up this morning to oversee another auction event. With bright beams on his truck to guide the way, she wasn’t nearly as worried as she would have been if Lyle was out with the buggy.

  Heidi tapped her chin with the end of her pencil. I hope none of my students are late this morning due to the fog. Depending on the severity of it in various locations, maybe some of them will decide not to come today.

  Sugarcreek

  As Lisa passed the road leading to the Carlisle Inn, the fog became thicker. She turned on her high beams, but that didn’t help much. In fact, it made seeing through the dense haze even worse. It was hard to focus on the road when she could only see a few feet in front of her.

  She kept her speed down, gripping the steering wheel with such force the veins on the back of her hands became more noticeable. Sure hope I don’t run into the rear end of a car—or worse yet, an Amish buggy. With all the hills, it was sometimes hard to spot a horse and buggy until right on top of it, even when the weather was clear.

  As moisture stuck to the windshield, Lisa gave herself a pep talk and turned on the wipers. You still have plenty of time to get there, so try to relax and concentrate. No need to hurry. Just take it slow and easy.

  The closer she got to Walnut Creek, the denser the fog became. Lisa feared she might miss the road where she was supposed to turn for Heidi’s house. She’d carelessly left her cell phone at home, so she had no way of activating her GPS to help navigate the way. If she hadn’t been bothered with feeding the pup this morning and then locking the little guy in her laundry room, she probably would
have remembered the phone. But the puppy she’d named Trouble needed to be someplace where he couldn’t do any damage while she was gone. The little rascal was kind of growing on her, but if she could find him a good home, it would be better. With her business growing, Lisa didn’t have time to train or care for a dog.

  Straining to see the road signs, she pulled over to get her bearings and hopefully calm her nerves a bit. She’d only been sitting on the shoulder of the road a few seconds when another car pulled in behind her. Curls of hazy air currents kept her from observing what kind of vehicle it was. She figured the driver might also be having difficulty seeing the road.

  As Lisa looked out her side mirror, the skin on the back of her neck prickled. The figure of a man had gotten out of the vehicle and was approaching her van. She quickly locked all the doors. A moment later, a face she recognized stared in at her through the window. Oh, no, it’s Todd.

  Todd knocked on the driver’s-side window of the van parked in front of his car. Even through the thick fog, Todd knew right away that the vehicle was Lisa’s. He’d thought he wouldn’t get the chance to speak with her privately today, but as fate would have it, he’d been given the opportunity to talk to her with no one else around to interrupt or overhear what he had to say.

  He lifted his hand and rapped on the window again. She stared at him a few seconds, then rolled the window down. “Hey, Lisa. Is everything okay?”

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” Her tone was terse, and she barely made eye contact with him.

  “Well, I just thought … Seeing your van parked here, I wondered if you were having trouble with your vehicle.”

  “I’m fine. Just stopped for a minute to get my bearings. This horrible fog is like driving through pea soup, and I wanted to be sure I was on the right road.” Her voice didn’t sound quite so snappish, but now she was talking too fast.

  He shifted his weight, leaning against her door. “Mind if I come in a minute so we can talk?”

  She pulled her fingers through the ends of her shiny blond hair and gave a brief shrug. At least she hadn’t said no.

  Todd hurried around to the passenger’s side and climbed into the van. “How have you been, Lisa?”

  “You needed to get in my van to ask me that?”

  Todd moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue. This wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped. “I really wanted to talk to you about why you ran off the dance floor in such a huff the night of my friend’s wedding.”

  Lisa pulled at her jacket collar. “I figured you’d know the answer to that.”

  “I do, and I–I’m sorry.”

  “If you didn’t like the food I prepared for the wedding reception, you could have at least kept your opinion to yourself.”

  “But I thought you’d only made the cake.”

  “I run a catering business, which I mentioned during our first cooking class.” Folding her arms, she looked at him through half-closed eyes. “But maybe you weren’t listening.”

  Todd rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I remember, and as I said, I was aware that you’d made the cake. I just didn’t think—”

  “Whether you didn’t realize I’d made the food for the reception or not is immaterial. You said it was horrible.” Lisa’s chin trembled.

  “No.” Todd shook his head. “What I said was that I didn’t think there was anything special about it.”

  “Same difference. You obviously didn’t like the food, and it hurt my feelings.”

  “I’ll admit, it wasn’t my favorite cuisine, but it wasn’t all that bad, either.” He placed both hands on his knees, gripping them firmly as he spoke. “Look, I’m truly sorry I offended you. I sometimes speak before I think. Can we forget the whole thing and start over?”

  “I—I suppose.” Her face relaxed a bit.

  “Good.” He smiled, then glanced at his watch. “Now that we have that settled, we’d better get back on the road or we’ll be late for the cooking class. I can hardly wait to see what Heidi wants us to make today.” Todd wrinkled his nose. “Hopefully it’ll be something better than the crazy bread she taught us to prepare two weeks ago. I threw the starter out as soon as I got home that day.”

  “You did? How come?” Her vocal pitch rose, as she looked away from him, then back again.

  “Because it smelled funny. Besides, I had no reason to make more bread. I have no one to give it to.”

  “It’s friendship bread. Couldn’t you have given it to a friend?”

  Todd rubbed his chin. Truth was, he didn’t have many friends. Since Shawn and Melanie were still on their honeymoon, he couldn’t give it to them. Besides, they were more acquaintances than friends.

  Ignoring Lisa’s question about the bread, Todd opened the van door. “We’d better get going now, or we’re gonna be late. I’ll pull my car in front of your van and lead the way. That is, if it’s okay with you.”

  She slowly nodded.

  “Okay then. Toot your horn if you can’t see my car or feel like you’re lost in the fog.” Todd stepped out of Lisa’s van and climbed back into his car. He still wasn’t sure if she was really his type, but it would be fun to find out. Who knows? Maybe before the end of our class today I’ll have an opportunity to ask her out on a date. Bet Mom and Dad would like Lisa. They’d probably be impressed that I found someone who’s not only beautiful but has a head for business, too.

  Chapter 20

  Walnut Creek

  Lisa relaxed a bit as she followed Todd’s car. It helped being able to see his taillights leading the way to Heidi’s house. Todd was going nice and slow, which made driving less tense. Over and over she thought about the conversation they’d had minutes ago.

  She pursed her lips. I wonder if Todd truly meant it when he apologized for his remark about the food I catered for his friends’ wedding. Or was he only trying to save face? The bride and groom seemed pleased with what she’d fixed at their request, so that’s all that really mattered. Lisa didn’t know why she even cared what Todd thought. She’d only known him a short time, and they were not well acquainted, at that. For some reason, though, she wanted to know him better. On the one hand, he irritated her; on the other hand, she found him quite attractive and charming. Of course, a solid relationship should never be built on looks. Outward appearances could be deceiving, whereas a person’s character and behavior was what made them likable.

  Lisa gave her head a quick shake. Stop thinking about Todd and concentrate on your driving. I’m sure he has no interest in me, and even if he did, I don’t have time for love or romance in my life right now. I’ve got my hands full with my business, plus getting the duplex next door ready to rent again. She groaned. Not to mention a puppy to take care of if I can’t find it a good home.

  Todd glanced in his rearview mirror to see if Lisa was still following. He was glad to see the headlights of her van behind him when he turned up Heidi’s driveway. The fog seemed to be clearing, and it didn’t take long to realize theirs were the only vehicles here. He and Lisa were either early, or the others were late.

  Good. That’ll give me a little more time to visit with her. Todd felt a tingling in his chest. Lisa probably wasn’t his type, but he wouldn’t know for sure until he spent more time with her. I might even do a review of one of the dinners she caters sometime in the future. If it’s a good review, it could help her business, which in turn might put me in her good graces. Then again, if Lisa read the review she might think I only did it to get on her good side. Probably the best thing to do is try to see her more often and let things go from there.

  Todd turned off the ignition and got out of his car. He stood by the driver’s side and waited for Lisa to exit her van.

  “Were you able to see my taillights okay?” he asked when she joined him a few minutes later.

  “Yes, and it helped a lot.” Lisa rubbed her hands down the side of her beige slacks. “The only thing I dislike more than driving in snowy weather is fog. Unfortunately, in my business I
’m often stuck driving in foggy conditions during the fall, and then the winter months often bring snow.”

  “Ever think about relocating to a warmer climate, like Arizona, Southern Florida, or one of the Hawaiian Islands?”

  She shook her head vigorously. “Oh, my, no. My family lives here in Ohio, and it’s where I call home.”

  “I think I could live about anywhere as long as I had a job I liked.” Todd started walking beside Lisa toward Heidi’s house.

  “What about your folks? Do they live close by?”

  “Nope. Mom and Dad live in Portland, Oregon, and since I have no siblings, there’s no family living near here.”

  Lisa tipped her head, looking at him through half-closed eyes. “If your parents live on the West Coast, why would you want to live in Ohio?”

  “I have a job here, and I like my independence. When I lived in Portland, Mom tried to run my life.” Todd scrubbed a hand down the side of his face. “She scrutinized nearly everything I did.”

  Lisa made no comment as they stepped onto Heidi’s front porch. Todd had a hunch she didn’t have a clue about the way he felt. No doubt Lisa was in pretty tight with her family. They probably didn’t try to tell her what to do or say.

  She raised her hand to knock on the door, but he put his hand in front of hers. “Uh, before we go inside, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

  “Oh?” Her lips parted slightly.

  “If you don’t have plans for this evening, how about letting me take you out for supper at the restaurant of your choice? I’d like to make up for what I said about the food you catered at Shawn and Melanie’s wedding reception.”

  “You don’t have to make up for it. You’ve already apologized.”

  He cleared his throat, while shuffling his feet. “Umm … yeah, I know, but I’d still like to take you out. It’ll give us a chance to get better acquainted.”

  “Okay, but—” Before Lisa could finish her sentence, the front door swung open.