The Beloved Christmas Quilt

by Brunstetter, Wanda E. ; Brunstetter, Jean; Brunstetter, Richelle

  Luella grabbed her things and hurried out the door. She didn’t know what would happen when she got to Atlee’s house this morning, but she hoped if he truly loved her, he would say so. Then they could talk about the things Mom and Dad said.

  Eugene flicked the reins, anxious to go a little faster. “Let’s go fella. You can move quicker than this.” Eugene smiled when Chip’s ears swiveled forward and he picked his feet up in a fanciful trot. “Atta boy. Now you’re talkin’.”

  As if the horse understood, he whinnied.

  This morning, Eugene had taken extra care in brushing Chip’s coat. Very quickly, he’d transformed it from a dull brown to a shiny chestnut. He’d also taken a few minutes more to comb out his flaxen mane and tail. Chip was the one thing Eugene could admit to loving about living on a farm, since he’d raised his horse from a colt.

  As Eugene looked out over the back of his horse, he couldn’t blame Chip for meandering and poking along. The stretch of nice warm weather they’d had lately would make anyone want to slow down and take it all in. This morning, however, Eugene was eager to see Luella, especially since he hadn’t talked with her since the accident. After church yesterday he’d been about to approach her, but then he realized she was conversing with Atlee. Eugene got annoyed and walked away.

  After he’d thought about it awhile, he decided he’d much rather visit Luella on a more personal level, and hopefully without so many others around. Maybe this morning he’d get to actually appreciate this weather, if Luella agreed to go for a buggy ride with him. It would be all too perfect, since he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to take part in anything gratifying. All Eugene seemed to do was help his dad around the farm, and his heart just wasn’t in it. He still yearned to train in taxidermy.

  As they rode along, Eugene noticed some wildflowers growing along a fence row. Think I’ll stop and pick some of those for Luella.

  Hopping out of the buggy, he secured Chip to one of the posts and began picking a few flowers in shades of pink, purple, and yellow. He even found smaller blue ones he could add to the bunch he’d tied together with twine.

  Satisfied, he drove on to the Ebersols’, and as he pulled into their yard, he waved at Luella’s father, who was just coming out of the barn.

  “Good morning, Eugene.” Owen took hold of the horse’s bridal as he pulled up to the hitching post.

  “Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Eugene grabbed the flowers and came around to where Owen stood. He handed the colorful arrangement to Owen then secured Chip to the post.

  “Aw, shucks,” Owen teased, holding the flowers like a baby. “You shouldn’t have.”

  Eugene laughed and pointed to the flowers. “Thought I’d come by and see how Luella is doing. I was hoping these might cheer her up.”

  “She’s doing pretty well, but sorry, you just missed her.”

  “Will she be back soon?”

  “No, she won’t be home till this evening, after she fixes Atlee and Daryl’s supper.”

  “Oh, I see.” Eugene gulped, trying to swallow his annoyance. “Guess she’s feeling a lot better, if she’s working again.” It figures she’s with Atlee. “Well, I didn’t get a chance to talk with her yesterday after church, and before I help Dad around the farm today, I was hoping I could see her this morning. Maybe take her for a ride—that is, if she was feeling up to it.”

  “I’m sure Luella will be glad to hear you stopped by. Oh, and before you go, I have a favor to ask.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I have a bunch of rotten fence posts in my back field, and I’ve put the word out to a few men, asking for help replacing them. If you have some time on Saturday, do you think you could come by to give us a hand?”

  “Sure, I’d be glad to.” Maybe I’ll get to see Luella then.

  “Danki. I appreciate your willingness to help.” Owen turned to go back to the barn. “I’ll see you around 9:00 a.m.,” he called over his shoulder.

  “That works for me. See you at nine.” Eugene unhitched his horse and climbed back into the buggy. As he was backing up, Luella’s mom came running out with a plate.

  “Good morning, Eugene.” Esther smiled. “I just took my first batch of oatmeal raisin cookies out of the oven and thought you might like some.”

  “I certainly would. In fact, I’ll have one on the way home.” Eugene was pleased Luella’s parents seemed to like him. Now if only he could get Luella to like him, too.

  Atlee had just finished washing the breakfast dishes when he looked out the kitchen window and spotted Luella coming up the driveway in one of her father’s open buggies, perfect for the warmer weather.

  As he watched Luella pull up to the hitching rail, Atlee’s fingers and toes began to tingle. Should I say something to her today, or wait for another time? If I asked Luella to marry me, would she reject my proposal? Will Luella say she’s too young for me?

  He smiled when she entered through the back doorway, but felt disappointed that she didn’t smile in return. From the red in her eyes, Atlee guessed Luella may have been crying.

  After she’d greeted Daryl, Atlee asked his son to go into the living room and play with his toys, saying Luella would be in later to read from his book. Daryl left the kitchen without an argument, and Atlee suggested Luella have a seat at the table. Before he had a chance to say anything, she spoke.

  “I’m sorry for being late this morning. My parents wanted to talk to me, but they wouldn’t do it in front of my sister and brother.” Luella paused and drew a quick breath. “They want me to quit working for you.”

  Atlee’s stomach clenched. “It’s because of what I told your daed the day of your accident, isn’t it?”

  She dropped her gaze to the table. “What exactly did you say, Atlee?”

  Throwing caution to the wind, Atlee lifted Luella’s chin and looked directly into her shimmering eyes. “I told your folks that I’m in love with you, Luella. I understand if you don’t have those same feelings for me, but you need to know, and I wanted them to know, too.”

  Luella’s eyes swam with tears. “Oh, Atlee, I love you, too, but my folks think you’re—”

  “Too old for you?”

  “Jah.” Her voice quavered. “To me, our age difference doesn’t matter, but if Mom and Dad don’t approve, I would feel like a disobedient daughter if I went against their wishes.”

  Atlee reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. “Let me talk to your daed again and see if I can make him understand. I am not the kind of man who would take a daughter from her parents without their blessing.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Saturday morning Luella woke up and was pleased to see the sun streaming in through the crack in her window shade. Right after breakfast a few men from their community would be coming to help her father replace fence posts around the property, and this was good weather for the project.

  With the exception of Eugene and a couple of other men who lived close, Dad hadn’t asked for anyone’s help. However, word spread quickly around here, so Luella wouldn’t be surprised if several other men showed up, as well. Yesterday, she’d mentioned her dad’s plans to Atlee, but with him taking care of Daryl on Saturdays, it wasn’t likely he would show up.

  Luella had been thinking and praying about her situation with Atlee, as Mom had asked her to do when Luella insisted on continuing to work for him this week. Luella had also reflected on her promise to Dena. Would her friend approve of her becoming Atlee’s wife?

  Swinging her legs out from under the covers, she ran her hand over the quilt. Oh, Dena, what should I do? Luella sat, staring at the floor and wiggling her toes. It hasn’t even been six months since Atlee lost you. Is it too soon for him to be thinking of another?

  Well, I can’t take time to think about all this right now. I need to help get breakfast on the table. Luella took out her clothes and hurried to get dressed. They’d be busy preparing food for the hungry men, and she needed to help her mom as much
as she could.

  “I thought you were going over to the Ebersols’ place to help put in new fence posts,” Eugene’s mother remarked when she came into the living room where he sat on the sofa. “Did you forget?”

  “No, I didn’t forget. My back’s acting up, and I decided to stay home and rest it today.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Did you call and leave a message for Owen so he’d know you weren’t coming?”

  Eugene shook his head. “I’m sure he’ll figure it out. Besides, lots of others from our community will be there to help out. He won’t miss me.”

  Mom clucked her tongue. “That’s not the point. The polite thing to do is let someone know when you’re not coming; especially since you agreed when Owen asked for your help. We taught you better manners, I hope.”

  “Jah, you’re right. I’ll take care of doin’ that soon.” Eugene leaned back against the sofa cushion, trying to find a comfortable position. I’d much rather have to deal with a toothache than with this horrible back pain.

  “Would you like me to make the call for you?”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll phone him soon. I need to stretch out for a while yet.”

  “All right then. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

  After Eugene’s mother left the room, he tipped his head back and closed his eyes. In one way he’d looked forward to going to the Ebersols’, hoping to see Luella. But pulling out fence posts and replacing them would require bending over, which would only aggravate Eugene’s back. He’d see her some other time when he wasn’t hurting.

  Luella was bringing out the paper plates and plasticware to the two tables set up in the yard, when her friend Ruth Yoder approached.

  “Hi, Ruth.” Luella walked over and gave her friend a hug. “It’s good to see you.”

  “I’m glad to see you, too. It’s been awhile, but then you’ve been rather busy lately.” Ruth looked down at the ground.

  “Yes, ever since I started helping at the Zooks’, my days seem to fly by.” Luella shook her head. “Then on Saturdays, I try to help Mom as much as I can, but that’s still no excuse. I’ve missed talking with you.”

  “I wanted to come by after your accident, but then my mom slipped and fell and ended up with a sprained ankle, so I needed to keep close to home until she was up and around again.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here now. What brings you by today?” Luella asked, walking with her friend toward the house.

  “Thought I’d come by and see if you and your mamm needed help with anything.” Ruth looked out toward the field. “We’d heard several men from the community would be here helping your dad, and we sure know how these men like to eat. I figured I could visit with you while helping serve lunch or anything else you need me to do.”

  “We certainly can use an extra set of hands.” Luella held the door open as they walked into the kitchen. “Look who’s here to help us, Mom.”

  Mom turned from the stove where she was stirring a large pot of chicken corn soup. “Why hello, Ruth.” She walked over and gave Luella’s friend a hug. “Thank you for offering to help.”

  “No problem. I’m happy to be here.”

  “What’s next, Mom?” Luella asked.

  “The bread will be done in about fifteen minutes, and the soup can simmer until it’s time to eat.” Mom wiped her hands on her apron. “Sara is going to make a chocolate cake as soon as the bread comes out of the oven. For now, though, you and Ruth can get out the lunchmeat and cheese then arrange it on the platter over on the table.”

  “Sounds good, Mom. Where is Sara?”

  “She went to feed some scraps to your goat.” Mom grinned. “You know how Buttercup eats anything.”

  Luella looked at her friend and laughed. Ruth giggled, too, and Mom chimed in. “Yep, it’s like having our own little garbage container.”

  As Luella and Ruth got the platter ready, Luella told her friend about the accident and how she was healing. “I was only laid up for a week. My scar is healing nicely, too, from where I got cut. See—no more bandage.” Luella held up her hand.

  “That’s good. So, you’re still working for Atlee, huh?” Ruth asked, right out of the blue.

  “Jah.”

  “Oh, I see. I figured he might have found someone else by now or asked one of the older single ladies to marry him.” With a slight frown, she tilted her chin toward the floor.

  Luella remembered back to the evening she had seen her friend at the Bird-in-Hand Restaurant, but remained quiet, not wanting to put Ruth on the spot. There must have been a reason her friend hadn’t spoken to her that night. Perhaps Ruth had her own opinion where Luella and Atlee were concerned. But Luella didn’t want any tension between her and Ruth. So unless Ruth pursued this conversion about Atlee, she would change the subject and talk about something else.

  After the meat and cheese platter was prepared, Ruth sealed it with plastic wrap. Luella got out the mustard, mayonnaise, and pickles.

  “Well, it looks like everything is ready.” Esther put the lid on the pot of soup. “All we need to do is take the rest of these things out, and by that time the men should be coming in from the field to eat.”

  As Luella held the door for her mom and Ruth, she glanced down the driveway toward the road. Deep down, she had hoped Atlee would show up, but maybe it was for the better that he hadn’t—especially since Ruth was here. She suspected soon enough her friend would be asking questions.

  “Where’s Eugene?” Esther asked when she handed her husband a cup of cold water. “I thought he was coming to help with the fence posts today.”

  “Said he was.” Owen gulped the water then wiped his mouth on his shirtsleeve. “Something must have come up.”

  “Did you check the phone shack for messages? I’m sure he would have called if he couldn’t be here.”

  Owen nodded. “I did check before the other men and I got started, but there were no messages from anyone.”

  “Hmm, that’s strange.” Esther pursed her lips, glancing toward Luella where she was dipping soup into one of the worker’s bowls. “If Eugene came today, I was going to make sure Luella brought him water.”

  “You’d like to see the two of them get together, am I right?”

  “Jah. Wouldn’t you?”

  Owen shrugged. “I would if it’s what our daughter wants.”

  Esther poured him another cup of water. “You know who she wants, and neither of us approves of her choice. It would help if Luella weren’t working for Atlee. Being with him every day is what created the problem in the first place. We should have put our foot down after Dena died and Luella wanted to continue working for him.”

  Owen shook his head. “If we had done so, she would have resented us.”

  “Well, Atlee should have had better sense and hired someone else.”

  “I agree, but what’s done is done.” Owen motioned to the horse and buggy coming up the driveway. “Speaking of Atlee, that’s his rig coming in.”

  Esther grimaced. “I wonder what he wants.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he came to help with the fence posts.”

  “Did you ask for his help?”

  “No, but then some of the men who showed up here today weren’t invited, either. They heard I needed help and came on their own.” Owen handed his empty cup to Esther. “I’ll go see what Atlee wants.”

  Atlee had no more than tied his horse to the hitching rail, when Owen stepped up to him. “I heard you needed some help replacing fence posts today, but before I start working, I’d like to speak to you about Luella.”

  Owen frowned. “I believe I made myself clear that day at the hospital. Luella is too young for you, and I can’t offer my blessing.”

  “You’re right, she probably is, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve fallen in love with her.” Atlee dropped his gaze to the ground then looked up again. He noticed all the helpers were in the yard, eating lunch, and hoped not to cause a scene. “That being said, I will ho
nor your wishes and do nothing that would come between you and your daughter.”

  “I appreciate that. My fraa will be glad to hear it, too. As you may know, Eugene is interested in Luella, and we feel he’d be a better choice for her.”

  “I understand.” Atlee could barely get the words out. What a predicament he’d gotten himself into. If Dena hadn’t died, he wouldn’t even be in this position. He looked right at Owen. “Would it be all right if I speak to Luella a few minutes before I begin helping with the posts? I owe her a word of explanation.”

  Owen nodded. “The last time I saw Luella, she was heading into the house.”

  “Danki.” With a heavy heart, Atlee made his way up the path and stepped onto the porch. He knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, Luella’s sister, Sara, opened it. “Is Luella inside? I need to speak to her.”

  “Jah, sure. I’ll go get her.” Sara didn’t invite him in, but she did leave the door open.

  Atlee shifted from one foot to the other, wondering if he should go in or wait here on the porch. Probably better to wait here, he decided, even though it felt like all eyes were on him.

  A few minutes later, Luella came to the door. Her expression was unreadable.

  “I need to talk to you. Can we go somewhere private?”

  She nodded. “Follow me.”

  Atlee stepped off the porch behind Luella and followed her around the side of the house, out of sight from everyone else.

  Luella stopped in the shade of a large maple tree. “What did you wish to speak to me about?”

  “I came here to say that even though my feelings for you are strong, I won’t go against your parents’ wishes.” Atlee paused and drew a quick breath. “I can’t change how old I am, but I can set you free to marry someone closer to your age.”

  Luella’s chin trembled. “I don’t want anyone else.”

  “Nor do I, but we cannot go against your parents’ wishes.” It was all Atlee could do not to touch Luella. His arms ached to hold her, to wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks. But he held himself in check. To prolong this would only bring misery to both of them. He had to sever all ties with Luella. “There’s one more thing I have to say.”