“That feather design is beautiful. You certainly are creative,” she said. “I never imagined you had the ability to do that.”
Lamar’s thick eyebrows furrowed. “What are you sayin’, Emma—that I’m dumm?”
“No, no, of course you’re not dumb. I just meant …” She paused and fanned her face, which suddenly felt very warm. “I’m just surprised, that’s all, because I’ve never known a man who has the kind of talent you have or enjoys working with quilts.”
Lamar’s frown was replaced with a smile. “I think your students were a bit surprised as well,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“I’m sorry that I doubted your ability to teach the class. You obviously know quite a bit about quilts.”
“At least from the designing end of things, I do,” he said with a nod. “Of course, working with my wife in her quilt shop, I learned a lot about making quilts, too.”
Emma leaned closer to the table and started eating her soup. She wondered what other things she didn’t know about Lamar.
Goshen
Soon after Star got home from the quilt class, she decided to work in her grandma’s flower beds. They were getting overgrown with weeds, and it didn’t look like Mom was going to tackle them anytime soon. When
Mom wasn’t working, she was busy entertaining know-it-all Mike, with whom she was spending the day. He’d come by for Mom right after breakfast, saying he wanted to take her shopping at the mall in South Bend, and then they would see a show and go out to dinner after that. Why they couldn’t have gone to the mall in Goshen, Star couldn’t figure out, but at least with Mom and Mike being in South Bend, it was better than him hanging around here all day. Now Star would have the run of the house.
Star had just finished pulling weeds in one flower bed and had moved over to start on another when their nineteen-year-old neighbor boy, Matt Simpson, came out of his house and sauntered into Grandma’s yard.
Oh great, Star thought. Here comes Mr. Pimple Face, who can’t even grow a beard.
“What are you up to?” he asked, kneeling beside Star on the grass.
“I’m weeding the flower beds. What’s it look like?”
“Hmm …”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d move back, ‘cause you’re invading my space.”
“Hey, don’t mind me. I’m just tryin’ to be friendly,” he said, moving back just a bit.
Star stabbed her shovel into the ground and pulled up a weed. Maybe if I ignore him, he’ll go away.
“Say, what are you doin’ for supper this evening?” Matt asked.
Star kept digging and pulling at more weeds, hoping he’d take the hint and leave.
“Hello. Uh … did you hear what I said?”
“I heard you all right, and quit winking at me.”
“I wasn’t. The sun was in my eyes, and I was squinting, not winking.” He leaned closer again. “What are you doin’ for supper?”
“I really don’t know. I’ll probably fix a sandwich or something.”
“I thought maybe you’d like to go out for a burger and fries.”
“With you?”
“Yeah.”
She glared at him. “Get lost, creep. I wouldn’t give the time of day to someone like you.”
His blue eyes flashed angrily, and he pushed some of his auburn hair out of his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, no. I’m not interested.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re a loser, and losers are nothing but trouble. I ought to know; I had a loser for a dad and another loser for a stepdad.” She grimaced. “Losers are losers; that’s all they’ll ever be.”
Matt frowned. “Sorry about your loser dads, but it’s no reason for you to compare me with them, ‘cause I’m not a loser!”
“Oh, yeah? Then how come you’re still living at home, sponging off your folks, and won’t look for a job?”
“Who told you that?”
She shrugged. “Let’s just say it’s common knowledge.”
“For your information, I do have a job.”
“Oh really? Doin’ what?”
“I have a paper route now, and I’ve got enough money in my wallet to take us both out for a burger and fries. A milkshake, too, if you want it.”
She grunted. “Give me a break. I’m not goin’ anywhere with you!”
Matt wrinkled his freckled nose. “That suits me just fine, ‘cause unless you were willing to wear something sensible on our date, I wasn’t plannin’ to take you out anyways.”
“I wear what I feel good in, and if you don’t like it, that’s just too bad.”
“Why do you have to be so mean? Are you tryin’ to hurt me so I’ll leave you alone?”
She gave a nod. “That’s what I do best … I push people away—especially losers like you.”
Looking more than a little hurt, Matt stood and shuffled out of the yard. “You know,” he yelled over before going into his house, “I knew your grandma, and I can’t believe you’re even related to her! And you know what else? You’re nothin’ like her, even if you are pullin’ weeds in her garden the way she used to like to do!” With that, he stormed into his house and slammed the door.
Star flinched. She knew she’d been hard on Matt, but if she’d given the poor sap even a hint of niceness, he might have thought he had a chance with her. “Like that’ll ever happen. If I was gonna go out with someone, it would be with a guy like Jan, who at least has a decent-paying job and likes some of the same things as me. Not that he’d be interested in someone as young as I am.” She stabbed the shovel into the dirt again. “But if he did ask me out, I’d probably say yes.”
CHAPTER 26
Shipshewana
Shortly before noon on Wednesday of the following week, Emma stepped outside and headed for the phone shack to check her messages. She hoped she might hear something from Ruby Lee. She’d tried calling her on Saturday and then again on Monday. Both of those times, though, she had to leave a message on Ruby Lee’s answering machine. Could Ruby Lee be out of town, or was she avoiding talking to Emma?
I wish I’d been able to teach my class on Saturday, Emma thought as she approached the phone shack. Maybe I could have said something to help Ruby Lee when she shared her troubles with the others.
Emma was almost to the shack when the door opened suddenly and Mary stepped out. “Ach, Mom, I didn’t know you were out here!” Mary said, jumping back, her eyes going wide.
“I came to make a phone call,” Emma replied. “Sorry if I startled you.”
“No problem. I’m done with the phone now.” Mary moved aside. “How are you feeling, Mom? Are you still in a lot of pain?”
Emma shook her head. “I’m doing better every day. I don’t think this bout with shingles is quite as bad as the first time I had them.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I plan on teaching my quilt class this Saturday,” Emma said. “I appreciated Lamar’s help last week, but I don’t want to impose on him again.”
Mary smiled. “I know I’ve said this before, but I think Lamar is really a very nice man, and I also wanted to tell you that—”
“I’d better get my phone call made,” Emma said, quickly changing the subject. She wasn’t in the mood to hear more of her daughter’s thoughts about Lamar, because she had a hunch that Mary wanted to see her get married again. Why, she couldn’t imagine. Didn’t Mary realize that no one could ever take Ivan’s place in Emma’s heart? For that matter, could Mary so easily accept a stepfather? Maybe she thought if Emma married Lamar, then the family wouldn’t have to help her so much.
All the more reason for me to show them that I can be independent, Emma thought.
“Would you like to come over to my house for lunch after you’re finished with your phone call?” Mary asked.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’d better pass. I have some chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove, and after I eat, I’m going to take
a nap. I want to make sure I get plenty of rest between now and Saturday.”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
Mary gave Emma a gentle hug, said good-bye, and headed for home.
Emma stepped into the phone shack and dialed Ruby Lee’s number. Again, no one answered, and Emma had to leave another message.
“Hello, Ruby Lee, it’s me, Emma Yoder. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you,” she said. “I hope you’ll be at the quilting class on Saturday. In the meantime, if you’d like to talk, please give me a call.”
When Emma left the phone shack, she stopped at the goat pen and watched Maggie and the other goats frolic awhile. She was glad Maggie couldn’t get out and make a pest of herself any longer. It had just made more work for Emma whenever the goat messed things up in her yard.
After Emma arrived back at the house, she discovered that a tear in her front screen door had been fixed. She figured Mary’s husband must have done it, maybe while she was taking a nap earlier in the week. Emma had been so out of it lately, she hadn’t noticed much of anything.
She paused to run her fingers over the spot where the tear had been and noticed what a fine repair job it was. She’d have to thank Brian for his thoughtful gesture right away.
Emma entered her house and went to the kitchen to check on the soup. Seeing that it was thoroughly heated, she turned off the stove and headed for Mary’s house.
“Did you change your mind about joining me for lunch?” Mary asked when Emma entered her kitchen a few minutes later.
“No, I just came over to tell Brian thanks for fixing the tear in my screen door.”
Mary shook her head, “Brian’s still at work, and no, Mom, it wasn’t him. Lamar fixed the tear in your screen.”
“How do you know that?” Emma asked, raising her brows.
“Because I saw him do it.”
“And you never said anything about it to me?”
“I was going to mention it when I spoke to you a bit ago, but you said you were in a hurry to make a call, so I decided it could wait.”
“Oh, I see.” Emma was thankful the screen had been fixed, but she wished it had been Brian who’d done it and not Lamar. Now she felt obligated to repay him in some way, because he’d done three nice things for her in one week.
Goshen
Since Mom was working at the restaurant and Star had gotten off work earlier this morning, Star had the house to herself again. That was fine with her. She was thankful Grandma had left this old house to Mom, because it was a place she could just relax and be herself. When Star was alone, she could sing and play her guitar without Mom telling her to tone it down. She could work on writing more songs without any negative comments. This morning, however, Star had decided to go through some of Grandma’s things that she’d found in the attic.
As she sat on the floor in the dusty, dimly lit room looking through a box of pictures she’d found in an old trunk, tears sprang to her eyes. She’d never seen any of these photos before, and it was hard seeing pictures of herself when she was a girl, sitting on Grandma’s lap. Those had been happy days, though, when Star felt loved and secure. But seeing the pictures made her miss Grandma even more.
If only I could feel that kind of love from Mom, she thought. But then, under the circumstances I guess she did the best by me that she could. It couldn’t have been easy raising a child alone. Maybe that’s why Mom married Wes. She was hoping to give me a father.
Anger boiled in Star’s chest. That creep was anything but a father to me, and he sure wasn’t the kind of husband Mom or any other woman needed. He should have been put in jail for all the times he hit Mom. But no, Mom had either been too afraid of him to file a report, or maybe she was just plain stupid and liked to be smacked around. Who knows? Maybe Mom thought Wes was the best she could do and didn’t realize that she deserved better.
Star swiped at the tears dripping onto her cheeks. The past was in the past, and it didn’t make sense to cry over what couldn’t be changed. At least they were rid of Wes now, and even though she didn’t care for Mike, she had to admit, he was a better choice for Mom than the wife abuser. Even so, Star hoped Mom wouldn’t marry Mike, because then Star would feel forced to move out of Grandma’s house—the only place that had ever truly felt like home.
Bringing her troubling thoughts to a halt, Star reached into the trunk and pulled out a few more photos, stopping when she came to a picture of Mom holding a baby in her arms. Star knew the baby was her, because she’d seen other baby pictures of herself. But part of this picture had been ripped away. Could there have been someone else in the photo? Had Mom, or maybe Grandma, torn the picture like that?
Was my Dad in the other half of this picture? Star wondered. Should I show this to Mom and ask her about it or keep it to myself? Knowing Mom and the way she avoided the subject of Star’s real dad, Star figured if she showed the picture and started asking a bunch of questions, Mom would get real mad. However, if it was her dad, then Star really wanted to know, because she’d always wondered what he looked like and whether she resembled him or not. Maybe Mom had some other pictures of him hidden away somewhere that Star didn’t know about.
Star started to put the picture back in the trunk but changed her mind. She’d keep it in her wallet for now—until she decided whether to mention it to Mom or not.
CHAPTER 27
Mishawaka
While Pam prepared supper on Friday evening, tears welled in her eyes as she reflected on the things Ruby Lee had said during the last quilt class, things about appreciating each other and not quarreling all the time. She could still hear the tone of almost desperation in Ruby Lee’s voice when she’d said, “Have you ever stopped to think about how things would be if something happened to one of you? Worse yet, what if one of you died, leaving the other alone?”
Maybe I don’t appreciate Stuart enough, Pam thought as she reached for some garlic powder to sprinkle on the ground beef patties Stuart would soon be putting on the grill. Maybe it would help if I try to be a little nicer to him and show more appreciation for the good things he does. That was one of the things their counselor had suggested, only Pam hadn’t put it into practice. But then, neither had Stuart.
“Daddy wants to know if the patties are ready,” Devin said, dashing into the kitchen at full speed and nearly running into the table. He was still in high gear, since today had been the last day of school and the kids’ summer vacation had officially begun.
Pam dabbed at her eyes so Devin wouldn’t see her tears. “Slow down, son. You know you’re not supposed to run in the house.”
“Sorry,” the boy mumbled, “but Daddy said I should hurry ‘cause the barbecue’s ready and he don’t wanna waste the gas.”
“Yes, the patties are ready, and I’ll take them out to him right now.” Pam picked up the platter and headed out the back door, hoping her eyes weren’t too red from crying. She found Stuart on the patio, fiddling with the control knob on their gas barbecue.
“Here you go,” she said sweetly, handing him the platter.
“Thanks.” Stuart put the patties on the grill and then stood off to one side where he could keep a watch on things. “What else did you fix to go with the burgers?” he asked.
“I made macaroni salad, and we’ll have chips, dip, pickles, and olives. Oh, and I baked some chocolate cupcakes for dessert.”
“Sounds good.” He offered her a crooked grin.
Pam’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t looked at her that sweetly in a long time.
Maybe there was some hope for their marriage, after all.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I appreciate your help fixing supper tonight.”
“No problem. I’m glad to help out. And you know how much I enjoy barbecuing. Besides, it’s a nice way to celebrate the kids’ last day of school.” Stuart slipped his arm around Pam’s waist and pulled her close. It felt nice to have him show her some attention.
They stood like that for se
veral minutes, until Stuart had to flip the burgers. “You know, I’ve been thinking it might be fun if I took Devin on a camping trip this summer … just the two of us. It would give us some father-son time, and I can teach him how to fish.”
“Why can’t we do something as a family?” she asked. “Something we’d all like to do.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Such as?”
“We could take the kids to the Fun Spot amusement park. Or better yet, why don’t we make a trip to Disney World in Florida?”
Stuart shook his head. “A trip like that would take too long. I’ve only got a few days of vacation time left this year—just long enough for a few camping trips.”
Irritation welled in Pam’s soul. “Camping! Camping! Camping! Is that all you ever think about? Don’t you want to do anything Sherry and I might enjoy?” She clenched her fingers so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. “Don’t you love me, Stuart?”
“You oughta know I love you, but I enjoy being in the woods, and since you don’t like to camp, I thought I’d take Devin.” He paused long enough to flip the burgers again. “Can’t you and Sherry do something together? You know—some little mother-daughter thing like shopping or going to a movie?”
She shook her head. “I want us to do something as a family.”
“Then go camping with us.”
“I don’t like camping—especially in a tent. Worse than that, I don’t like being at home while you run off and do whatever you like with no consideration for what I might want to do.”
He frowned. “I’m taking that stupid quilt class, aren’t I? I’m doing it because I love you and want to make you happy.”
“The class is not stupid!”
His eyes narrowed. “I just said I love you, and all you heard was my comment about the class being stupid?”
“You didn’t think it was stupid when you went two weeks ago without me. Why was that, Stuart?” Pam’s voice rose higher with each word she spoke. “And why did you enjoy the class when you went alone but hate it when I was with you?”
The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club Page 19