by Jan Drexler
Rose was silent as she sipped her coffee, watching Ada. Mamm poured a cup of coffee for herself, then sat at the table with Rose and laid her pencil and old envelope within reach, ready to start the day’s list.
“You girls will understand someday, when your own children get older. I made the mistake of trying to hold on to the days when you were all little and the house was filled with activity.”
Mamm turned her coffee cup, staring at the steaming liquid.
Ada sat next to her. “But we have all grown up, and now you have grandchildren.”
Mamm nodded. “Essie and I talked the other day, and what I said to her has been pestering me ever since.” She squeezed Ada’s hand. “I think I’ve been holding on to you too tightly, only because you’re the youngest. There is no reason why you shouldn’t have a beau, and eventually a husband and a family of your own. You are a very loving and giving young woman, and I’ve selfishly wanted you to be with me for the rest of my life.”
Ada blinked. She had never thought that Mamm could be wrong about anything.
Rose leaned over the table. “I have an idea. Maybe you should keep going with the Great Cookie Campaign. You should make the jam thumbprint cookies, just like you planned.”
Mamm looked at both of them. “The Great Cookie Campaign?”
Her cheeks growing hot, Ada went to the oven to check on the brownies. “It was just a silly thing.”
“It was my idea,” Rose said. “But I guess it backfired, like all of my ideas. Ada wanted to attract Amos’s attention, so I thought cookies would do it.”
“But why is it over? Amos isn’t the only boy in the world.”
Ada shook her head. “It’s over. Who would I make the cookies for? I’m a terrible baker anyway. No one likes my cookies.”
Mamm rose, her list in her hand. “That isn’t true.” She gave Ada a hug. “Everyone loves your cookies. Why else would you sell so many at the store? You keep baking, and you’ll find your beau.” She squeezed Ada’s shoulders once more. “I have to go talk to your Dat about tomorrow, but don’t let anything I’ve said in the past keep you from the life the Good Lord has for you.”
As Mamm left, Rose put her cup down. “You are a wonderful baker. Amos is a fool, and you know it. You liked the gingerbread cookies, didn’t you?”
Ada took the batch of brownies out of the oven and slid the next trays of cookies in. She never wanted to think about gingerbread cookies again.
Rose stood between Ada and the bowl of cookie dough. “He hurt you badly, I know that. But it wasn’t your fault. Amos was wrong.”
Ada pushed past her sister and started rolling out more sugar cookie dough. “He wasn’t completely wrong. You know I’m . . . I’m fat and clumsy. No man will ever love me.”
“Now you’re the one who is wrong. I know for a fact that there is at least one man who likes you. He might even love you.”
“Who?”
“Matthias.”
Ada sighed. She missed Matthias. Missed talking to him and eating lunch with him. She hadn’t realized how much she looked forward to him coming to work each morning because she was too focused on Amos. She had been so blind.
“I think our friendship is over. We used to talk about all kinds of things, but ever since—”
“Ever since he tried to warn you about Amos and you got angry with him, things haven’t been the same between you. But on Saturday the two of you seemed to be getting along.”
Ada pressed the star-shaped cookie cutter into the dough.
She looked at Rose. “He was as friendly as ever, but, well, something was missing. Do you think he could forgive me for being so mean to him?”
“There’s only one way to find out. You need to ask him.”
Ada turned back to the cookie dough. “I don’t know how I can do that. He must hate me for how I treated him.”
Rose stirred her coffee, the spoon clinking gently against the side of the cup.
“That’s why I thought you should continue the Great Cookie Campaign. But this time, don’t let Amos and Vernon know about the cookies. Make them only for Matthias.”
As she transferred the stars to the cookie sheet, Ada thought about Rose’s suggestion. She glanced at the recipe card she had placed in her holder last week, in preparation for baking the jam thumbprint cookies. She had never wanted to be too bold when it came to making cookies for Amos, but Matthias was different. He would appreciate the gift, and it might even help to mend the broken place in their friendship. Her eyes grew wet when she thought about it. She had caused that rift, but could she fix it?
Later that morning, after breakfast was over, Ada started mixing the dough for the thumbprint cookies. Since she hadn’t planned to make them, she hadn’t had time earlier this morning, but Rose offered to open the store by herself. Ada hummed a Christmas hymn as she mixed the dough.
She had just put the first cookie sheet in the oven when someone knocked at the kitchen door. Matthias was waving at her through the window as she went to open it.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” she asked him. His smile encouraged her. Perhaps they were still friends, after all.
“I was going to ask you the same question.” He pulled his gloves off as he walked in. “When I saw you weren’t at the store this morning, I thought you might be ill. Rose sent me over to see how you were feeling.”
Ada poured a cup of coffee for him and set it on the table. “Rose knows I’m not sick. I got behind on my baking this morning.”
Matthias poured some cream in his coffee. “I wanted to talk to you and apologize for how I’ve been acting.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” Ada sat across the table from him. “I’m the one who was so kerfuffled that I treated you badly. I’m sorry.”
He grinned. “Does this mean we’re friends again?”
A warm feeling started in Ada’s middle and spread. She smiled at him. “I hope so. I’ve missed talking with you.”
The timer dinged, and Ada jumped up. “Sorry. I have to take care of these cookies right away.”
She took the cookie sheets out of the oven as Matthias came to look over her shoulder.
“Is this a new kind?”
Ada nodded, carefully pressing her thumb into the middle of each cookie while they were still hot. Then she spooned a bit of raspberry jam into each indentation and returned them to the oven.
“Thumbprint cookies?” Matthias asked. “They are my favorite.”
“I think every cookie is your favorite,” Ada said. She paused. How much should she say? Silently, she passed him her grandmother’s recipe card.
“‘My Ben’s favorite,’” Matthias read. “Who is Ben?”
“Dawdi Ben, my grandfather.” Ada moved another tray of the cookies to her cooling rack. “These will be ready to eat in a few minutes.”
“As delicious as they look, I don’t want to eat the cookies you plan to sell.”
“These aren’t going to the store. I made them for you.”
“You mean for Amos, Vernon, and me?”
Ada shook her head, her face growing hot. “Just for you. They are your Christmas present.”
When she dared to look at him, he was smiling. “That is the best present ever.”
Matthias walked across the drive to the workshop, ready for his next project. The first, to mend the rift in his friendship with Ada, had ended up better than he could have hoped. Not only were they friends again, but he had seen a glimmer in her eyes that gave him hope that she might feel the same way about him that he did about her.
But first, he must talk with Leroy.
He found his boss in his office. Matthias closed the door behind him when Leroy invited him in. “I’ve been thinking about your offer.”
Leroy pushed aside the papers he had been working on. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“But a partnership usually means that each party puts money into the business, and I can’t afford to do that.”
“I
don’t expect you to buy in to the business,” Leroy said. “We can talk about the details later, but the main part of it is that I thought you could work with me and learn how we operate. Learn the fine points of Heritage Amish Furniture while working here.”
“That’s what I was hoping you would say.”
“I look forward to working with you,” Leroy said. “You are everything I would have wanted a son to be.”
“What would you like me to do first?”
Leroy grinned. “Finish up the Christmas orders that are still pending so that we can take a few days off this week.”
Matthias spent the rest of the day following up on the tasks Leroy had assigned to all three of them. By noon, Amos and Vernon had finished everything on their lists and were out delivering the last-minute orders.
Finally, three o’clock came. Matthias went into the store, where Rose had just turned the sign on the door to Closed.
“It has been a busy day, hasn’t it?” he asked as he helped Ada straighten up the displays.
“But it was fun.” Ada smiled at him and his heart pounded. “Everyone was in good spirits. It makes the time go by quickly.”
“Rose.” Matthias cleared his throat. “If you want to go home, I’ll help Ada close up the store.”
“Are you sure?”
Ada waved her toward the door. “You have a date tonight. Go get ready for Johnny.” She leaned close to him, her blue eyes shining. “She thinks he might ask her to marry him tonight. Isn’t that romantic?”
“You’re glad she’s getting married?”
“For sure.” Ada moved to the display of rolling pins, straightening them on their rack. “It will make her happy, and that’s what I want for her.”
Matthias glanced at her. They were friends again, but would she be willing to consider more? He pulled her present out of his pocket.
“I have a gift for you.” He handed her the small bundle wrapped in tissue paper. “It isn’t anything as special as cookies, but I think you’ll like it.”
As she unwrapped the paper, she gasped. The cardinal he had carved for her lay in her hand, the colors perfect. She stood the little bird on the counter, and it seemed to cock its head, as if it was asking for some sunflower seeds.
“It’s beautiful, and so lifelike. I’ll treasure it forever.”
Matthias took her hand. “Will you? Do you really like it?”
Ada gazed into his eyes. Her expression was trusting and peaceful. “I like it because you made it. It will always remind me of you.”
He tugged at her hand, pulling her closer. “I’ve always liked you, Ada, even when we were in school together. Since I came back to Shipshewana and we’ve gotten to know each other better, I’ve found that I still like you. I treasure our friendship.” He paused. “Is it too soon to tell you that I think I love you?”
Ada’s voice shook. “It isn’t too soon. I have been so stupid, thinking that I wanted to be in love with Amos, but what I had in mind wasn’t love at all.”
Matthias leaned even closer. “I think love is looking forward to a lifetime together.” He kissed her cheek. Her skin was soft, and a sweet fragrance surrounded him. “And working together.” He kissed her other cheek. “And spending every moment together that we can.”
Ada hesitated, then wrapped her arms around his waist as he drew her closer. He tilted her chin up with one finger and looked into her eyes.
“Holding you like this feels very good.”
She smiled. “You are being very forward.”
“Someone told me that I shouldn’t wait to take hold of God’s blessings. I want to spend time with you, talk with you. Learn everything about you.”
“That might take years.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m ready to take as long as I need to.”
When she smiled again, he captured her lips with his. He was finally home.
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
(MY BEN’S FAVORITE)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup ground almonds, or commercial almond meal
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, softened (room temperature)
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
raspberry jam
Mix flour, ground almonds/almond meal, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat the egg into the butter/sugar mixture until fluffy. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well.
Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are no longer shiny.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven, then quickly and gently press your thumb into each cookie to make a depression. Put a scant 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry jam into the depression.
Return the cookie sheet to the oven for another 3–5 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 5–10 minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack.
Makes two dozen.
1
CONESTOGA CREEK, LANCASTER COUNTY
OCTOBER 1842
Hannah Yoder stamped her feet against the October evening chill seeping through her shoes. Darkness already reigned under the towering trees along Conestoga Creek, although the evening sky had shone pale blue as she walked along the path at the edge of the oat field minutes ago. The north wind gusted, sweeping bare fingers of branches back and forth against scudding clouds.
Where was Adam? She had been surprised to see his signal after supper, when Mamm had asked her to check on the meat in the smokehouse. She had been surprised to see the bit of cloth hanging on the blackberry bushes so late in the day. They had used the signal since they were children, ever since Adam had discovered that they both liked spying birds’ nests in the woods.
She shivered a little. The cloth on the brambles had been blue instead of the yellow Adam always used. It could be a mistake. Perhaps one of her brothers had caught his shirt on the brambles instead.
A breeze fluttered dry leaves still clinging to the underbrush around her. She would wait a few minutes more, and then go back into the house. When a branch cracked behind her at the edge of the grove, Hannah lifted the edge of her shawl over her head, tucking a loose tendril of hair under her kapp, and slipped behind a tree. Let him think she was late. It would serve him right to worry about her for a change. He had been so serious lately. What was it about turning twenty that made him forget the fun they had always had? Would she be the same in two years?
Like a hunting owl, a figure flitted through the trees to her right. Hannah stilled her shivering body, waiting for Adam’s appearance, but the figure halted behind the clump of young swamp willows at the edge of the clearing. So, he was waiting to frighten her when she arrived. Hannah smiled. She’d circle around behind and surprise him instead.
As she gathered the edges of her cloak to pick her way through the underbrush, she heard a giggle from her left. Liesbet? Hannah waited. She didn’t want her younger sister spying on her conversation with Adam.
The wind tore fitful clouds away from the harvest moon, illuminating the clearing as Liesbet stepped into the light.
“Where are you?” Liesbet peered into the dark underbrush. “Come now, I know you’re here.”
Hannah clenched her hands. Liesbet was like a pesky gnat at times, always following her when she wanted to be alone. She was ready to step out from behind the tree to confront her when Liesbet spoke again, in English instead of Deitsch.
“George, stop playing games with me. You’re going to scare me.”
Hannah froze. Who was George?
Suddenly a man leaped from the trees behind Liesbet and caught her around the waist. She turned with a little shriek and fell into his arms.
“George, you did it again. I know you’re going to be the death of me one day.”
Hannah covered her mouth to keep a gasp from escaping. T
he man who had been hiding among the willows wasn’t Adam.
“Ah, lass, you’re so much fun to scare, but you know ’tis only me, not some ghoulie prowling around the woods here.”
Liesbet giggled and snuggled closer to George. As he turned into the moonlight, Hannah could see him clearly, from his blue corded trousers to the snug-fitting cap perched on top of his head. His cocky grin reminded her of a fox carrying off a chicken from the henhouse. Certainly not an Amish man, or even Mennonite or Dunkard. She had never seen him before, but Liesbet had, for sure. She ducked farther behind her tree before either one of them could spot her.
“Give us a kiss, lass. The boys and I are only here for the one night. We’re heading on to Philadelphia tomorrow.”
Hannah could hear the pout in Liesbet’s voice. “You’re going away again? You never spend any time with me.”
“Aye, and my sweet Lizzie, whenever I ask you to come along, you always play the little girlie who stays at home.”
“It wouldn’t be proper for me to tag along with you and your friends.”
George’s low laugh sent chills through Hannah. “No, lass, not proper at all.” Then his voice took on its teasing tone again. “Admit it, you’re just too young.”
“I’m nearly sixteen!”
“Aye, like I said, you’re just too young.”
They grew quiet, and then Hannah heard a groan from George. She risked a glimpse around the tree. Liesbet was pressed up to him, her hands clinging to his shoulders while she kissed him. As Hannah watched, the man pulled Liesbet closer, one hand reaching up to pull off her kapp and letting her blond curls tumble to her shoulders. He buried his fingers in her hair, continuing the kiss until she struggled to pull out of his grasp. She stepped just beyond his reach and gave him a coy look.
Liesbet, what are you doing?
“Do you still think I’m too young?”
“Lizzie, you’re enough to drive a man to distraction.”
Hannah heard a warning in George’s voice, but Liesbet turned her back on him and walked to the edge of the clearing. She was playing games with the man, but the look on his face in the moonlight was hungry. Predatory. Hannah shivered again.