by Amy Clipston
While Naomi was excited to spend time with Susie, she couldn’t help but be disappointed that Caleb had already left for a day of visiting his friends and acquaintances in town. She’d spent all evening thinking about their conversation on the porch.
Throughout the night, she’d tossed and turned, analyzing his words and remembering the sadness in his eyes while he’d discussed his beloved wife. She knew that she was developing feelings for the man, and she wished she could suppress them. However, her stomach fluttered at the thought of seeing him and speaking to him again.
Susie ran her hand over the stitching. “You sewed the top layer and then you hand stitched it all together?”
“That’s right.” Naomi nodded toward the family room where the women sat around a frame that held Sadie’s latest creation. “See how all the women are stitching that quilt your aenti made? My mamm and I stitched this one. Since it’s only a twin size, we didn’t need a whole group to help us.”
Susie studied the creation in her hands. “Who did you make this one for?”
Naomi shrugged. “This one was really just for fun. I was experimenting with the colors. Do you like it?”
Susie’s eyes were bright. “I love it.”
Naomi smiled. Perhaps the quilt could be a surprise Christmas gift for her little friend. She gestured toward the family room. “Did you want to go help the women with that quilt your aenti is finishing for the English customer?”
“No. Let’s talk instead.” Susie sat on a kitchen chair. “Did you have any of my onkel’s cider last night?”
Naomi sat across from her. “I did. It was appeditlich.”
The little girl nodded. “Ya, it was wunderbaar. I told my dat he needs to learn how to make cider like that.”
Naomi laughed while standing. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
Susie tilted her head in question. “Do you believe in Christmas miracles, Naomi?”
Naomi’s smile faded as she crossed the kitchen, grabbed two cups of water, and brought them over to the table. “Sure, Susie. Why do you ask?”
“Danki,” Susie said, taking the cup. “Janie and Linda said that one of their cows was born on Christmas Eve last year, and their dat said it was a miracle because it was so cold.” She sipped her water.
“I imagine it was a miracle.” Naomi sipped the water, wondering where this conversation was headed.
Susie glanced toward the women in the family room next to the kitchen and then moved closer to Naomi. “May I tell you a secret?” she whispered.
“Of course,” Naomi said softly, leaning closer to her.
“There’s a Christmas miracle I’ve been praying for.” Susie wiggled her chair closer to Naomi. “My dream is for my dat to be froh again on Christmas. I want to see him smile. I mean really smile. He smiles now, but I don’t think he’s truly froh since Mamm is gone. I want him to be really and truly froh.”
Naomi smiled as tears filled her eyes. “That’s very sweet, Susie.”
“Do you think it’s possible?” Susie asked, still whispering. “Do you think God will grant me that one miracle?”
Naomi pushed a lock of hair that had escaped Susie’s prayer covering away from her face. “With God, all things are possible,” she whispered.
“What are you two scheming?” Sadie asked, stepping into the kitchen and shooting Naomi a suspicious expression.
“We’re just talking, Aenti Sadie,” Susie said. “Naomi was telling me all about quilts.”
Sadie grabbed a stack of dishes from the cabinet. “I thought you wanted to learn how to make them. If you want to learn how, then you need to come join us in the schtupp and not sit out here gabbing with Naomi.”
Naomi bit her bottom lip to hold back the stinging retort she wanted to throw back at Sadie. Why did Sadie have to nag Susie when they were having a nice time together?
“Let’s serve lunch, Susie,” Sadie said.
Naomi and Susie helped Sadie spread out the food for lunch, including chicken salad, homemade bread, pickles, and meadow tea. The women gathered around the table. After a silent prayer, they discussed their upcoming Christmas plans while eating.
Naomi was filling the sink with soapy water for the dirty dishes when the back door opened and shut with a bang. She spotted Caleb following Robert into the family room, and her stomach flip-flopped. She was glad that Irene Wagler hadn’t come to the quilting bee. Although she knew it was a sin, she couldn’t ignore the jealousy she’d felt when Caleb had spoken to Irene and Irene’s father last night. She’d felt a special connection with Caleb during their conversation on the porch. She knew that she had no future with the widower since he and his daughter would soon return to Ohio. However, she couldn’t stop the growing attraction that bubbled up in her every time she saw him.
“Dat!” Susie rushed over and hugged Caleb, nearly knocking him over. “We’ve had such fun!” She began rattling off details of her new knowledge of quilt-making.
Grinning, Caleb shucked his coat and hung it on the peg by the door. Turning, he met Naomi’s stare, and her pulse skittered. She looked back toward the sink and began scrubbing the dirty utensils as a diversion from his captivating eyes.
Conversations swirled around her while she continued washing the dirty serving platters and bowls. A tug on her apron caused her to jump with a start. She glanced down at Susie smiling up at her.
“Naomi?” Susie asked, her big green eyes hopeful. “My dat and I were wondering if you would go shopping with us.”
“Shopping?” Naomi wiped her hands on a dish towel as she faced Susie and Caleb.
Sadie stepped behind Caleb and studied her brother. “Shopping?” she echoed. “Where are you going shopping?”
He shrugged. “Susie wants to go Christmas shopping, and it sounds like fun to fight the crowds. I don’t care where we go. I’ll leave the location up to Susie and Naomi.”
“Will you come with us?” Susie grabbed Naomi’s arm and tugged. “There are some things I want to get for my cousins.”
Sadie gave Naomi a hard look, and Naomi paused. She knew how Sadie relished sharing gossip at her quilting bees, and that was the reason why Naomi had enjoyed staying in the kitchen with Susie instead of listening to Sadie’s latest news.
Naomi met Susie’s hopeful eyes and silently debated what to do. She didn’t want to hurt the little girl’s feelings, but she also knew the possible consequences. Going shopping alone with Caleb and his daughter could start rumors that would upset Naomi’s mother.
“Well, I don’t know.” Naomi turned back to the sink. “There are an awful lot of dishes to be cleaned up, and then I need to help finish the quilt. Sadie has a customer who is going to pick it up tomorrow since it’s a Christmas gift for her daughter.”
“I’ll help finish the dishes,” Caleb said, grabbing a dish towel.
Stunned, Naomi stared at him. “You will?”
He chuckled. “Believe it or not, I cook and do dishes back home.”
“I just don’t know.” Naomi felt Sadie’s scrutinizing stare. “I think I need to stay and help with the quilt.”
Susie frowned. “Are you certain?”
Once Sadie had walked away, Caleb sidled up to Naomi and began to dry a serving platter. “Would you feel more comfortable if one of your sisters or perhaps one of my nieces came along with us?” he asked her under his breath.
Naomi studied him, wondering how this man could read her mind. “How did you know?”
He gave a small smile. “I know how mei schweschder works.”
Naomi leaned closer to him. She couldn’t help but inhale his manly scent, like earth mixed with a spicy deodorant. “What do you mean?” she asked.
He placed the dry platter on the counter. “She had spread the news about my proposal to Barbara before I had even decided to propose. She should’ve been an editor for the local paper instead of a quilt maker.” He snatched a handful of clean utensils from the sink. “I’ll finish the dishes, and Susie can help me put
them away. Why don’t you see if one of your sisters or my nieces wants to join us? That will quell any rumors about our shopping expedition.”
“Are you certain?” Naomi placed the dish towel on the counter.
“I’m drying the dishes, aren’t I?” he asked with a grin.
She couldn’t help but smile. His handsome face was nearly intoxicating. “Danki.”
“No need to thank me,” he said, opening the utensil drawer. “You’re going to help me more than you know. Shopping is not one of my strengths.”
CHAPTER 8
Caleb walked through the flea market with Naomi by his side while Susie, her cousin Janie, and Naomi’s sisters, Levina and Sylvia, skipped ahead toward a candy concession stand.
The ride over to the indoor flea market in Robert’s borrowed buggy had been noisy, with the four girls chatting all at once in the back seat. Caleb had stolen several glances at Naomi and found her fingering the ties on her black bonnet and the hem of her cloak. He wondered what she was thinking and if she was enjoying her time with him as much as he enjoyed his time with her.
“How come we haven’t met before now?” he asked, falling into step with her while holding the bags containing a few small gifts he’d picked up for Sadie and Robert.
She gave him a confused expression. “Excuse me?”
“You didn’t go to school with the Kauffmans, right?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. I grew up in a district that’s a few miles away. My dat decided to move to a larger farm when I was sixteen.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “You’re close to the Kauffmans, ya?”
He nodded. “Timothy’s been my best freind for as long as I can remember.”
“Oh.” She frowned.
“You don’t like the Kauffmans much, do you?” He felt like a liar for asking the question. He knew part of the answer since Timothy had shared that he’d broken Naomi’s heart. However, he wanted to hear her version of her past with Timothy and Luke. He knew in his gut that Sadie was wrong about Naomi. She seemed like a quiet, honest young woman, not a woman who was too eager to find a husband.
“It’s not that.” Her cheeks were pink again. “I just. Ach. I sort of —”
“Naomi!” Levina’s loud voice interrupted Naomi. “Can I have some money? I want to get some licorice.”
“Oh.” Naomi pulled out her small black handbag.
“I got it.” Caleb touched her warm hand and then pulled out his wallet.
“Oh no.” Naomi shook her head. “That’s not necessary. I don’t expect you to buy candy for my sisters.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He handed Levina a ten. “Please buy for all of the girls.”
“Danki, Caleb.” Levina smiled and trotted off to the candy counter.
“Danki,” Naomi said.
“Gern gshehne.” He motioned toward a bench near the candy stand. “Let’s sit for a moment. What were you saying about the Kauffmans?”
She smoothed her skirt. “It’s rather embarrassing.”
“I’m certain it can’t be that bad.”
She frowned and placed her plain, black handbag on her lap. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“That’s fine,” he said, glancing toward the girls, who were busy ordering candy at the stand. “What do you want for Christmas?”
“Me?” Naomi laughed. “Ach, I don’t need anything.”
He studied her deep brown eyes. “There must be something you’d like. There’s always something we don’t need that we’d like to have, even if it’s considered unnecessary or frivolous.”
“Well.” She tapped her chin and glanced toward a bookstand. “There’s a pretty Bible that I looked at a few weeks ago. I’m still waiting for it to go on sale. The binding on my Bible is falling apart, but I don’t necessarily need a new one. However, every night when I open it for my devotional time, I feel the fraying binding and think about how nice it would be to have a new one.”
“Interesting.” He smiled. “You’ll have to show it to me before we leave.”
Naomi shrugged. “Alright. So what about you? What do you want for Christmas?”
At first he waved off the question because he couldn’t think of anything he wanted. But then the answer hit him like a speeding, oncoming freight train. The truth was that he did want something, and it was as if a light bulb went off in his head and in his heart. The feeling was overwhelming and it was brand new, something he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. What he wanted for Christmas was something he’d probably never experience again. He wanted a companion. Someone to share his life with. Someone to tell his hopes and dreams to and to help him through the tough times. Someone to help him raise Susie in a faithful Christian home.
He wanted a life partner.
He wanted a wife and a mother for Susie.
But finding that wasn’t as easy as Sadie had made it sound.
Besides, worrying about his own needs was selfish and self-serving, since he knew his focus had to be on being the best parent he could for Susie. Aside from God, she was the center of his life now. Concentrating on finding a new wife would only take his focus away from Susie, which would be wrong.
Therefore, he couldn’t tell Naomi the truth about what he wanted for Christmas because it was too embarrassing.
“I don’t need anything.” Grinning, he raised an eyebrow. “Sound familiar?”
She mirrored his grin, and she was adorable. “There must be something you want, no matter how unnecessary and frivolous it may sound, Caleb. Isn’t that what you told me?”
He glanced across the large flea market toward a booth with antique tools they’d passed earlier. “There was a tool I spotted over there that would be a great one to add to my collection, but it’s nothing I necessarily need.”
She touched his hand. “I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll show you my dream Bible if you show me that tool you want but don’t need.”
He shook her hand. “It’s a deal.”
Her smile was bright, revealing her dimple. “Wunderbaar.”
“Dat,” Susie asked, approaching them. “Can we get some fudge?”
Caleb glanced at Naomi, and she shrugged while pulling out her wallet. “Let me pay this time. You paid for the licorice.”
He leaned close to her and inhaled her flowery scent, wondering briefly if it was her shampoo. “Put your money away,” he whispered. He then turned to Susie. “That’s a gut idea. Let’s all get some fudge.”
Stepping over to a fudge stand, he ordered a slab for the girls and then some for himself and Naomi.
“You’re much too generous,” Naomi said before breaking off a piece from the small block. “I could’ve paid for my sisters and me.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be gegisch. It was just fudge.”
“Danki,” she said.
He wished he could get her to open up to him, but he didn’t want to push her. He and Susie would head back to Ohio soon, so any thoughts of a relationship would be preposterous. Yet, he was captivated by her.
She smiled and then nodded toward the girls, who were disappearing in the crowd. “We’d better catch up to them.”
He nodded. “You’re right.”
They weaved through a knot of shoppers and caught up with the girls at a toy stand.
“Did you have a nice day in town today?” she asked.
“Ya,” he said. “I ran some errands with Robert and visited some old freinden.”
“I bet your friends were froh to see you,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“I think so.” He shrugged while biting into the chocolate. “We stopped by the Kauffman Furniture store so Robert could talk to his dat and brothers.” He shook his head as he recalled the conversations. “Timothy and his brothers are mounting a campaign to get me to move back here. They were trying to get me to go visit a shop that’s for sale near the furniture store.”
“Oh?” Her eyes rounded with interest. “Did you go visit it?”
; He shook his head. “Not yet. But I might.”
The girls sat on a bench outside the toy stand and giggled while eating their fudge, and Caleb wondered if he should go visit the shop owner. Would moving Susie closer to his family be a way to help her heal after losing her mother?
He motioned toward a bench near the girls. “Should we sit and finish our chocolate?”
“That’s a gut idea.” Naomi sat down. “I didn’t mean to be rude before.”
“Rude?” He sank down next to her. “What do you mean?”
“When you asked me what I thought of the Kauffmans.” She studied her remaining square of fudge, and he wondered if she was avoiding his eyes. “It’s just that I’ve made some mistakes that I regret, and they aren’t easy to talk about.”
Guilt rained down on him for pushing her to discuss it. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business.”
“No,” she said, frowning as she looked up at him. “You’ve been honest with me, so I need to be honest with you. Timothy and I courted for a short while, but we broke up when we realized that we weren’t right for each other. I also courted Luke Troyer for a short time. Mei mamm said I was too eager with them, and I know she’s right.” Her cheeks blazed a bright pink, and he wished he could ease her embarrassment. “But I was young then. I’m almost twenty-five and I know better now. I won’t rush into another relationship. In fact, I think God would prefer I help mei mamm raise my siblings rather than court.”
He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit too hard on yourself? We’ve all had our hearts broken at one time or another, but God still wants us to get married and have a family. You said yourself that God can give us a second chance at love.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I said. I asked you if you believe God gives us a second chance, but I never said I believe it.”
“But you agreed that God gave Sarah Rose a second chance with Luke.”
“Ya, I did,” she said softly. “But I’m not so sure he’d be willing to give me a third chance.”
“What makes you think God puts a cap on how many chances we can have to find love?”