Redirecting his thoughts, Lance glanced at Lyle, still standing beside his horse and buggy. “Your wife went to get a phone number for me,” he called. “Sorry if I’m holding you up.”
Lyle started walking toward Lance, but before he reached the front steps, Heidi came out of the house. “Here you go.” She handed Lance a slip of paper.
“Thanks. I’ll give Lisa a call during my lunch hour. I’ll see you a week from Saturday. Oh, and I hope things go well at the dentist.” Lance gave a quick wave and headed back to his vehicle. With any luck, Dan would be moved out before this week was over.
New Philadelphia
Allie tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she waited at a stoplight while on her way to work. She’d dropped the kids off at school a few minutes ago and felt glad to be free of their chatter about the new pup. The name Lisa had given him was appropriate—he was a bundle of Trouble. At least that’s how Allie saw it. Nola and Derek were enamored with the little fellow and thought everything he did was cute.
Yesterday while the kids were at Sunday school, Allie had accidentally left the door of the pup’s cage unlatched, and he’d gotten out while she was in the living room visiting with Steve. When she returned to the kitchen, she found Trouble chewing on the throw rug by the sink. On top of that, he’d piddled on the floor near the back door. Then Prissy came in for a drink of water and something to eat from her dish, but the puppy wanted to play and ended up spilling cat food all over the floor.
When Allie went back to the living room to ask for Steve’s help, he’d mumbled, “It wasn’t a good idea to get that pup for the kids.” Then he went back to reading his newspaper.
The skin around Allie’s eyes tightened. To make her weekend worse, when she’d asked Steve why he’d gotten home a few minutes before midnight the night before, he gave some excuse about being called out for a domestic dispute, then quickly changed the subject. Allie felt sure he’d lied to her, but she didn’t make an issue, since she had no proof. She was driving herself crazy thinking Steve may have been with another woman. When she came right down to it, the whole idea sounded ludicrous, but then, when she thought about all the facts, what else could it be? If things kept up, she may come right out and ask if he was having an affair. As much as it would hurt, knowing the truth would be better than living with her suspicions. One thing was for sure—Allie would not give up without a fight in order to save her marriage.
Millersburg
Struggling to keep her eyes open, Nicole tried to focus on the test her English teacher had given the class. She’d stayed up late last night studying for it, but now she could barely stay awake. This morning, she’d overslept, so that didn’t help things any as she rushed around getting breakfast ready and lunches made for her siblings, as well as herself. Dad left early for work, which meant, as usual, all the responsibility fell on Nicole.
She rolled her shoulders, trying to get the kinks out, and reached up to rub the back of her neck. Use an apostrophe and s to form the possessive of a noun not ending in s. Girl’s. Use an apostrophe alone to form the possessive of a plural noun ending in s. Girls’.
Nicole bit the end of her pencil. Or is it the other way around? She opted for the first one and hoped for the best.
When Nicole looked up from her paper, she realized all the other students had turned in their tests. Earlier, before the exam started, the teacher told everyone when they were finished, they could read a book or start working on the next lesson, as long as they didn’t disturb other students who were still working on the test. Nicole pursed her lips. So, great—I’m the last to finish.
She glanced at her watch and frowned. Fifteen minutes left to get the test done, and I still have ten more questions to answer.
The next question involved sentence structure, and when a comma should or shouldn’t be used. By the time Nicole finished taking the test, she had a full-blown headache. She could only hope she had enough answers right and wouldn’t fail the exam.
As Bill headed up the hall to replace a light in the auditorium, he spotted Nicole coming out of her English class. He gave her a friendly wave, but her only response was a brief nod, then she looked the other way. Seeing her downturned facial features, Bill figured she’d had a bad morning so far.
He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. I still haven’t done anything to help the girl, and I need to take care of that right away. As soon as I get home from work today, I’ll make good on the promise I made to myself last Saturday. Like all young women her age, Nicole deserves the chance to be happy and enjoy a little time to herself.
“Mr. Mason.” A voice from behind brought Bill out of his thoughts. “May I have a word with you?”
Oh brother. Now what? Bill lifted his eyebrows as he turned to face Ms. Shultz.
“There are cobwebs in the corner of my classroom, which means there could be a spider lurking about.” She stood looking at him with her arms crossed. “And I’ll not put up with that.”
“Now what’s wrong with a little ole spider?” Bill grinned, wondering what she’d do if he put the big rubber spider he had at home in one of her desk drawers. He’d pulled a prank like that when he was a boy, and his teacher nearly fainted.
Guess I won’t press my luck with Ms. Shultz today. He gave a placating nod and stepped into her class.
Chapter 27
Dover
Monday evening, as Lisa was getting ready to fix supper, her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but decided to answer anyway. “Hello.”
“Is this Lisa Brooks?”
“Yes, who’s calling?” She thought she recognized the deep male voice but wasn’t sure where she’d heard it before.
“It’s Lance Freemont from the cooking classes. I got your number from Heidi Troyer.”
Lisa took a seat at the kitchen table. “Oh, I see. If you’re calling about the duplex, the unit I rent out isn’t ready yet.”
“I figured it wouldn’t be but thought maybe you could use some help with it. I’d like my brother to take a look at the place as soon as possible, too.”
“Are you offering his assistance to clean and fix things up?”
“No. Thought I’d help you with that myself. Of course if he’s willing …”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really? How come?”
Lance cleared his throat. “Figured if I helped out, you’d get the job done twice as fast.”
“But don’t you have a mail route during the week?”
“Sure, but I only work five days a week. A sub fills in on my days off.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I suppose we could work something out.” Lisa paused. “But don’t you think you should bring your brother by first, to make sure he’s interested in moving here?”
“Right. That’s a good plan. Can I come over sometime tomorrow to help out? It’s my day off and I have nothing else planned. I’ll bring Dan with me so he can see the place. Then if he likes it, we’ll both help out. He likes to paint, so if you’re needing that done, Dan’s your man.”
“Sounds good. Why don’t you come over around ten? I have an errand to run at eight thirty, but I should be back by then.”
“Great! See you then.”
Lisa said goodbye and put her cell phone on the counter. Her stomach rumbled, and she gave it a pat. It was definitely time to start supper.
Canton
After supper, Kendra’s sisters cleared the table and did the dishes, so Kendra took little Heidi to her bedroom to change and feed her. Once that was done and the baby lay sleeping in her crib across the room, Kendra pulled a cardboard box out of her closet. She was surprised it was still there—especially after she’d been kicked out of the house in the early part of this year. When Kendra returned home at her parents’ request, she’d half expected to discover all of her old things had been thrown out.
The box was full of old papers and memorabilia from her high school days, and she wanted to make sure there was nothing left in it to re
mind her of Max. When he’d chosen not to acknowledge Kendra’s pregnancy and had cheated on her, she’d vowed to erase him from her life. That included getting rid of any pictures of him that may still be floating around. The last thing she wanted was for her little girl to know anything about her biological father when she grew up.
Kendra took a seat on the floor and took everything out of the box. Then, one by one, she began sorting through each item. So many mementos she’d saved in those days. It was hard not to laugh at them now. First, there was a ticket stub to a school play she’d gone to. Why she’d saved that had her perplexed, because as Kendra remembered, she’d gone there alone. Then there were the pictures of some of her classmates she’d never bothered to put in her wallet. When she came to the yearbook from when she was a sophomore, she paused to look through the photos and read a couple of pages. She’d managed to get a few signatures and autographs from teachers and some of her fellow students. Kendra had to laugh when one of them had been signed, “To a girl who will go far in life.”
“Yeah, right.” Pushing her hair off her face, Kendra criticized her situation. “Here I am coming up on my twenty-first birthday, still living with my parents, a single mother, and no job.” She heaved a sigh. “If those kids I went to school with could see me now, they’d wish they had written something different in my yearbook.”
Halfway through the book, Kendra’s gaze came to rest on the senior class pictures. She hadn’t known many of the senior students, but recognized a few who were either involved in sports or held some position on the student body council. She recognized one of the guys—a tall, good-looking fellow named Brent. He was captain of the football team and also president of the senior class. As she recalled, Brent always had a group of silly girls around him, vying for his attention.
Then she glanced in the box and saw something else. Folded, in the shape of a triangle, was an old gum wrapper. Picking it up, she had to smile, remembering the night, like it was yesterday.
Kendra had been standing on the sidelines, cheering her school’s football team as they ran out on to the field. She’d been with a group of other students when she saw a piece of paper fall out of Brent’s uniform. She’d kept an eye on where it fell. Then, when everyone went back to the bleachers while the team was doing the coin toss to see who would get the ball first, Kendra hurried over and picked up the small paper and stuffed it in her pocket. It was this very gum wrapper she looked at now that had been in Brent’s pocket that day.
She smiled, placing the yearbook aside, then went to the waste basket to throw the wrapper away. Ironically, to this day, she still bought that brand of chewing gum, all because of a high school crush.
I bet Brent’s got a wife and a couple of kids by now. A guy like him, who had it all together, would never have given someone like me a second glance. Sure wish I could have found somebody better to date then Max. He was a loser from the get-go. I was just too dumb to see it.
Millersburg
“How’d things go at school today, kids?” Nicole’s father asked as she and her siblings sat at the kitchen table eating the pepperoni pizza he’d picked up on the way home. It was a treat for Nicole, not having to cook.
“School was okay,” Tony said around a mouthful of food. “I’d rather spend the day outside riding my bike or playin’ basketball, though.”
“Those are things you can do when you get home from school, Son.” Dad looked at Heather. “How was your day?”
“It was good. I found a new book in the library I like. It’s about a …”
“Hey, where’s the milk?” Tony bumped Nicole’s arm with his bony elbow. “I thought you were gonna put it on the table.”
“I asked you to take the milk out, remember?” Nicole gestured to the refrigerator. “Why don’t you get off your lazy bones and get it?”
“You’re not my boss.” Tony glared at her. “Only Mom and Dad can tell me what to do.”
Nicole swatted at the air. “Dad’s your boss, but in case you’ve forgotten, Mom’s not here. And even when she was …”
Dad held up his hand. “Okay, you two, that’s enough. Tony, please get out the carton of milk. And don’t forget four glasses.”
“Okay,” Tony mumbled, pushing his chair away from the table.
Dad looked at Nicole. “How was your day at school? Didn’t you mention you had a math test to take?”
“No, it was English.”
Nicole cringed. She was almost certain she’d gotten at least half the answers wrong. Between lack of sleep and not studying long enough, her brain couldn’t absorb all the questions on the test, let alone come up with right answers. “It’s too soon to know how I did on the test.” She waited for Tony to set the milk on the table and hand her a glass, then she poured herself some. No way was she going to admit she’d probably flunked the test. Dad would probably come unglued.
The telephone rang from the living room, and Dad left his seat at the table to answer it. When he returned several minutes later he wore a closed-lipped smile. “Good news, kids—especially for you, Nicole. An anonymous donor has paid for us to have our house cleaned weekly for the next six months.”
“What?” Nicole’s eyebrows shot up. “Why would someone do that?”
Dad lifted his shoulders in a quick shrug. “The woman who called has her own cleaning business. All she said was that she’d been paid in advance to come here and clean weekly until the last day in May. She will start this Saturday.”
“Yeah!” Tony clapped his hands.
“The last day of May is when we get out of school, Dad.” Heather grinned. “Nicole won’t have to start cleaning again till then. Of course, I’ll help her, since we won’t have any schoolwork to do during the summer.”
Barely able to take it all in, Nicole thought about all the people they knew. She couldn’t imagine who would care enough to hire a housekeeper for them or who had that kind of money. She hoped she could find out someday who the donor was so she could thank that person for it. Even though she’d still have cooking and other chores to do, not having to clean the house every week would give her more time to study and hopefully get all her homework done on time. For the moment, at least, things were looking up.
Walnut Creek
Heidi glanced at the kitchen clock. It was almost six, and Lyle wasn’t home yet. After their dental appointments, which had turned out well for both of them, he’d dropped her off at home and headed out to conduct an afternoon auction. Heidi spent the next few hours catching up with some mending and making a list of all the ingredients she would need for her next cooking class. Although it wouldn’t take place until a week from this Saturday, she liked to plan ahead and be prepared.
Heidi’s mouth watered as she lifted the lid on a kettle of stew and inhaled its savory fragrance. She was tempted to eat without Lyle, knowing he probably wouldn’t mind, but she didn’t want to sit at the table alone. She’d done it on too many occasions.
She turned away from the stove and gazed out the window. After nine years of marriage, there should be children playing in the yard, eager to come in when she called them for supper. Instead, the only thing Heidi saw was her dog, Rusty, running across the lawn. The Brittany spaniel was a loyal pet, but he could never take the place of a child.
Heidi moved from the window and shook her head. You’re doing it again—feeling sorry for yourself. When am I ever going to accept things as they are?
The words of Psalm 103:2 crossed her mind: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” It was a timely reminder of God’s faithfulness and the hope she had in Him. Heidi remembered one of their ministers saying recently that every believer should spend time naming the ways God had been good to them. This act would offer encouragement during times when things appeared bleak. He also said, “As God has been faithful to us in the past, His love for us will continue in the future. Reminding ourselves of God’s goodness will keep us filled with His peace.”
Heidi bowed her h
ead and closed her eyes. Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder of Your faithfulness and love. Help me remember all the blessings You have bestowed on me in the past and will continue to provide in the future. Amen.
She was on the verge of having a small bowl of the stew, when a noisy ruckus broke out on the lawn. Groink … Groink … Arf! Arf! Arf!
She hurried to the window and gasped. Rusty and six hefty hogs ran in circles through the freshly mowed grass. “Ach, the neighbor’s pigs must have gotten out of their pen!”
Heidi turned off the stove, grabbed two apples from the fruit bowl on the table, and rushed out the back door. She’d seen her father lure pigs into their pen a good many times when she was a girl. Hopefully, using fruit like he did would entice them to follow her back to their owner’s home.
Chapter 28
Heidi was halfway to the neighbors’ house with the pigs when she saw Lyle’s horse and buggy coming down the road. He must have spotted her then, too, for he pulled over to the side of the road, hopped out, and tied the horse to a fence post. “What’s going on?” he called, cupping his hands around his mouth.
“The neighbors’ pigs got out. Rusty was chasing them all around our yard.” Moving toward Lyle, Heidi showed him the apples she held. “I’m luring them home with these.”
He chuckled, slapping his knee as he got behind the pigs and cheered them on. Soon, they were back where they belonged and locked securely in their pen. Since the neighbors weren’t home, Lyle said he would tell them about it in the morning. He smiled at Heidi and motioned to his horse and buggy. “Hop in, and I’ll give you a ride back home.”
She did as he suggested, reaching over to touch his arm after he’d untied the horse and they’d both taken a seat. “Danki for your help with the sei. Those rambunctious critters can be a handful when they’re all stirred up, and our faithful dog didn’t help things any with all the barking he did.”
Amish Cooking Class--The Blessing Page 18