Nicole gave no reply to Todd’s comment, as she sat staring at the recipe card. The girl had seemed pretty upbeat when she’d first arrived. Todd wondered what had happened between then and now to make her turn sullen.
He looked at Heidi. “The way you cook, I’ll bet you’re planning a big dinner with all the trimmings. Am I right?”
“Actually, my husband and I will be going to Middlefield to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. Most of my siblings and their families will be there, too.” A wide smile stretched across Heidi’s face. “I’ll take something to contribute to the meal, of course.”
Todd glanced across the table, where Lance sat. “Have you made any big holiday plans?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure to get a dinner invitation from one of my daughters. They take turns each year, alternating whose house the dinner will be at.”
“What about you, Lisa?” If she won’t voluntarily talk to me, I’ll force her to say something. So far, she’d only been listening to everyone. Surely she won’t ignore my question and make herself look bad in front of these people.
Keeping her focus on her hands, folded in her lap, Lisa murmured, “I’m going to my parents’ house, too.”
“Good for you.” Todd gritted his teeth. Too bad I wasn’t invited. At one time you said you wanted me to meet your folks. How could you change your mind so quickly? Are you gonna let a little thing like religious differences come between us?
“In case anyone’s interested,” Todd mumbled, “I’ll most likely be spending Thanksgiving alone.”
“That’s too bad. Don’t you have plans to be with your family?” Heidi questioned.
“Nope. They all live in Oregon, and I’m not going there.” Todd turned to face Bill. “What are you gonna do for Turkey Day?”
“I’m going deer hunting the Monday after Thanksgiving, so I’ll be heading up to my cabin on Thanksgiving Day. I usually start getting the place ready—make sure there’s a good fire going in the wood stove and all. Some of my buddies will join me there, but not till the day after Thanksgiving.” Bill pointed at Todd’s tablet. “You never did say why you’re writing stuff down. With Heidi showing us firsthand how to make whatever she’s teaching, plus the recipe cards she gives us to take home, I wouldn’t think you’d need to take any notes.”
Todd’s pulse quickened. He set his pen down and crossed his arms. “If you must know, I’m taking notes for an article I’m writing for the newspaper in Canton.”
Heidi quirked an eyebrow. “You’re writing about my cooking classes?”
He gave a brisk nod. “To be honest, I’m a food critic, and I decided to take this class so I could write about it in my column.” There, the truth was out. Now to wait for everyone’s reaction—especially Lisa’s.
All heads turned in Todd’s direction. Some, like Heidi, wore questioning expressions, but the reddening and tightening of Lisa’s face let him know she wasn’t happy hearing this bit of news.
Heidi’s portable timer rang at that moment, and Todd jumped up to get his bread from the oven. Well, who cares if she’s angry or not? I’m glad the truth is finally out, because I don’t have to pretend any longer.
Chapter 32
Lisa could hardly sit in the same room as Todd without letting her annoyance show. Besides his disinterest in religious things, he was a deceiver. How could I have been so foolish? I should have known by the way he scrutinized everything here and at the restaurants he’s taken me to that he had more than a passing interest in the food. I’m glad I won’t be seeing him anymore. She shifted in her chair. If I’m meant to have a man in my life, there has to be someone out there who’s better suited to me.
She glanced over at Todd as he removed a piece of corn bread from the pan. Not a shred of guilt on his face, or even an apology for misleading Heidi after he’d announced his true profession and admitted the reason he’d signed up for her classes. I can only imagine what Heidi and the others must be thinking right now as they all sit staring at him.
Unable to hold her tongue, Lisa left her seat and marched across the room to where Todd stood at the counter after placing his bread on a cooling rack. “How could you be so deceitful?” When he gave no reply, she tapped his shoulder. “The day Heidi first asked each of us what brought us to her cooking classes, why weren’t you honest about being a food critic?”
He leaned away from her, creating several inches of space between them. “Don’t judge me, Lisa. You’re not perfect, you know.”
Heat shot up the back of Lisa’s neck and quickly spread to her face. “Never said I was.” She pointed a finger at him. “But I didn’t lie about my reason for taking Heidi’s classes. For that matter, I’ve always tried to be honest and upright.”
His nostrils flared. “Wow, I had no idea I’d been going out with a saint. Wasn’t I the privileged one, though? I’m surprised you wasted your time with a sinner like me.”
Lisa planted her hands against her hips, but before she could offer a retort, Heidi stepped between them. “It would have been nice to know your true reason for being here, Todd, but no harm’s been done, and I’m not angry with you.”
The hair on the back of Lisa’s neck prickled. Really, Heidi? You’re more forgiving than I would be. Guess I’m not living up to my Christianity today. She pulled in her top lip. Even if I do forgive Todd, we can never be together. We are unequally yoked.
After everyone’s corn bread had cooled sufficiently, Heidi placed a cube of butter on the table, along with a jar of honey she’d gotten from one of the local beekeepers. “Now it’s time for us to sample what we made. Oh, and I have some hot apple cider to go with it.”
Bill smacked his lips. “Autumn’s the best time to enjoy hot cider. I always take plenty of it when I go to my hunting cabin.”
Heidi handed out the prefilled mugs. “I think this cider’s the best, because one of our neighbor’s makes it with an antique cider press.”
Allie lifted her mug and took a sip. “Mmm … this is good apple cider.”
Lance nodded in agreement.
“The apple corn bread’s not bad, either,” Nicole added. “Think I might make some for Thanksgiving dinner. I bet Dad would like it, and maybe my sister and brother will, too.” Nicole smiled at Heidi. It was nice to see her looking more cheerful again. The other three times Nicole had come to cooking classes, she’d been quiet and sullen. With the exception of Lisa and Todd, everyone seemed to be in good spirits today.
Heidi thought about her previous students, and how some of them had brought their problems to class. She wondered if she should have encouraged Lisa and Todd to air things out. Perhaps she, or one of the other students, would have some good advice to offer these two. But with them being in the middle of cooking, it hadn’t seemed appropriate. Now that the lesson was over, if either Lisa or Todd continued with their disagreement, Heidi planned to say something more. If the opportunity didn’t arise, she would remember to pray for Todd and Lisa, because as her bishop often said, “Prayer is a powerful tool.”
“Is that today’s newspaper over there?” Lance pointed to the desk across the room.
Heidi nodded. “Yes, it is.”
“I didn’t realize you folks subscribed to the paper.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Thought you only read things written by the Amish or specifically for the Amish.”
“We read those magazines and papers, as well as the regular newspaper. Lyle likes to keep up with the local and national news.”
“There’s not much good in the news these days.” Bill grunted. “Fact is, I quit subscribing to the paper for that reason. And I really get mad when they put things of importance way back inside the paper instead of on the front page.”
“I know what you mean about the news being bad,” Lisa chimed in. “Just the other day there was an article about a store that had been robbed and the owner beaten.”
“Stuff like that is on the Internet and television news, too,” Todd interjected. “Bad stuff happens. Like i
t or not, it’s part of the real world.”
Nicole frowned. “Yeah, the real world—that’s not always so great. Fact is, most of the things going on in our world stink.”
“She’s right.” Allie’s forehead creased. “Last night, when my husband came home, he mentioned three young children who were taken from their mother because of child abuse. It’s sad that so many kids in Ohio are waiting for foster homes and in desperate need of someone to care for them. Some of these children are babies, but most are older kids, and many come from abusive situations.” Allie slowly shook her head. “It’s a shame there aren’t more people willing to become foster parents.”
Heidi swallowed hard. Maybe she and Lyle should apply to be foster parents to some needy child. It wouldn’t be the same as having a baby of their own, but at least they’d have the satisfaction of helping some poor child in need. When he got home later today, she would talk to him about it.
Canton
After Todd got home from the cooking class, he flopped onto the couch, hoping to relax while he read the newspaper. “Yep,” he grumbled, “Bill was right. There’s nothing much good in the news these days.”
Skimming through the paper, Todd tried to keep his mind off Lisa and how upset she’d gotten with him in cooking class today. His confession about being a food critic had not gone well with her. And now, as he played over some of the things she’d berated him about, Todd wondered if she might be right. “Guess I should have been honest with Heidi, up front.” But again, Todd rationalized that he hadn’t actually deceived Heidi, or anyone else in the class; he just hadn’t told them the truth. His concern was not making a bad impression that first day, or revealing the main reason for attending the class. Taking Heidi’s cooking lessons had actually turned into more than Todd expected. He was beginning to get to know everyone, and actually felt more comfortable with some of them than he did his own parents.
It was hard to concentrate on reading the paper. In fact, most of it had become a blur.
Skimming over the local news, though, something familiar caught Todd’s attention. A restaurant he had critiqued a while back was going out of business, the article said. He remembered he hadn’t given a good review of the place and had criticized several things about the food, as well as the condition of the restaurant.
He continued to read how this family establishment had been in business for a long time, and at the same location since it first opened. The article didn’t say why they were closing, but it gave a date when it would last be open. Todd was surprised it would be so soon. The restaurant’s final day of business would be this coming Thursday, November 10.
“Maybe I ought to go there.” Todd pulled out his cell phone, to check the calendar and make sure he had nothing else going on that day. The tenth was open for him, so he wrote a note to remind himself.
Todd wasn’t sure how he would handle the situation, but he was curious to find out the reason they were closing the establishment. Inside, he felt a pang of guilt and hoped his negative critique hadn’t brought this restaurant to a close. It had happened one time before, when a new place of business couldn’t make a go of things. They’d blamed Todd for the uncomplimentary review he’d written about their hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
“Mind if I come in?” Kendra’s sister Shelly poked her head into Kendra’s room, where she lay on the bed next to her precious baby girl.
“Sure, come join us.” Kendra motioned to the other side of the bed.
“Okay.” Shelly lay down, with little Heidi snuggled between them. “My niece sure is growing, huh?”
“Yeah. Babies don’t stay little long enough.”
“Mind if I ask you a question?”
“Nope. Ask away.” Kendra stroked her sleeping infant’s velvety cheek.
“Do you have any regrets about not letting the Amish couple adopt your baby?”
“I do have moments of doubt,” Kendra admitted. “But when I’m holding the baby, all my reservations melt right away.”
“I can understand why.” Shelly leaned close to the baby and kissed her other small cheek. “Things are getting better around here between you and Dad, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know … maybe so. He’s not barking at me all the time anyhow.”
“I’m not defending his previous actions, because I thought it was awful when he kicked you out, but …”
“But what?” Kendra lifted her head, eyeballing her sister. “Do you think he was justified in putting his own needs ahead of mine? Do you think it’s okay that he sent me away?”
“No, that’s not what I was gonna say.”
“What then?”
“I can understand a little of how embarrassed he felt when he found out you were pregnant. It was hard for him to acknowledge it to the other church board members.”
“Yeah, I know. He was more worried about what they would think of him than me, though.” Kendra fluffed up her pillow. “It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve forgiven him for giving me the boot.”
They lay silently for a while, until Shelly posed another question. “Would you have married Max if he had asked you?”
“I can’t say for sure. Maybe back then I would have, but now, knowing what a louse he is, I’d never agree to marry the guy.”
“Do you ever hear from Max?”
“Nope. Why do you ask?”
“Just wondered if you know where he is or what he’s been up to since he went into the Marines.”
“I haven’t a clue.”
“Don’t you think Max has a right to meet his daughter?”
Kendra’s face warmed as she shook her head vigorously. “No way! Max gave up the right to be Heidi’s dad when he cheated on me and ran off with another woman.” Her toes curled inside her stockings. “I don’t want him anywhere near my little girl.”
“Suppose I can’t really blame you, given the circumstances.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Think you’ll ever find someone you love enough to marry?”
Kendra shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe someday Mr. Right will come along. For now, though, I need to concentrate on being the best mom I can for my sweet little girl.” She gazed lovingly at her daughter. If I’d given you up for adoption, I would have missed out on so much. No, I did the right thing by keeping you, little Heidi. And if I have my way, your biological father will never get the opportunity to lay his snake eyes on you.
Chapter 33
Walnut Creek
Do we have everything filled out as required?” Lyle leaned over Heidi’s shoulder, brushing a gentle kiss across her neck. They’d just finished eating breakfast and putting the dishes away.
She shivered and reached up to touch the side of his bearded face. “Jah, I believe so. I never expected there’d be this many questions, though.”
He took a seat opposite her at the dining-room table. “Becoming a foster parent requires several things, including being licensed, which won’t happen unless we fill out the paperwork and prove we meet all the necessary requirements.”
She drew a deep breath and exhaled quickly. “I hope we get to take in a boppli.”
He thumbed his ear. “A baby might not be the best idea, Heidi.”
“How come?”
“Eventually, when it’s time for the child to return to his or her parents or some other relative, it would be hard to say goodbye to a baby.”
She pursed her lips. “It’ll be difficult to say goodbye to any child put in our care, but we’ll do what needs to be done when the time comes.”
Lyle gave no argument. Instead, he rose from his chair, went over to the window, and looked out. “It’s only November eleventh, but with the way the gray clouds are looming in the sky, and the chilly temperatures today, it looks like we might get some schnee.”
Heidi’s eyebrows rose. “Ach, I hope not. It’s too early for snow.”
“I agree, but unfortunately, we have no control over the weather.”
She sighed
. “Or anything else for that matter.”
“Are you thinking of something in particular?”
“Jah. I was thinking about Loretta and Eli.”
Lyle slid his chair in closer to the table. “What about them?”
“Well, Loretta stopped by the morning of my last cooking class, before any of the students arrived.” Heidi paused to sip some of her mint tea. “She was upset because Eli compared his deceased wife’s meat loaf to the one Loretta made when she invited him to join her and the children for supper.”
“Did she talk to him about it?”
Heidi shook her head. “I told her she needs to, though. Eli probably doesn’t even realize he hurt her feelings.” She placed her hand on Lyle’s arm. “Has he spoken to you about this?”
“No. The last time I talked to Eli he mentioned that Loretta would be joining the church and said he planned to ask her to marry him once she became a church member. I figured now that she’s done that, he’d have already proposed.”
“It may not be good to interfere, but would you consider talking to Eli?”
Lyle pinched the bridge of his nose in a slight grimace. “Oh, I don’t know, Heidi. Eli might not appreciate me butting in. He could even tell me to mind my own business.”
“But he’s your friend,” Heidi argued. “When a person sees their friend going through a difficult situation, they should say something, don’t you agree?”
“I suppose I could drop over to see him soon. Maybe I can get Eli to open up without coming right out and telling him what Loretta said to you.”
“Good to hear.” Heidi’s lips parted slightly. “Now let’s get back to filling out the foster-parent paperwork.”
Canton
Todd had gotten up early, showered, and fixed himself some toast so he could get to the restaurant that had closed yesterday. He’d had full intentions of going there for supper last evening, but he’d fallen asleep and didn’t wake up until two this morning. Surely, the owners would still be there, finalizing everything before the restaurant was vacated.
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