by Amy Clipston
Naomi looked away from his stare. “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.”
“You’re young,” Caleb said. “Don’t give up on love so quickly. Barbara had an onkel who didn’t marry until he was almost fifty. He never gave up on love.”
She gasped. “Really? He was almost fifty?”
“I’m not saying you’ll have to wait that long,” he added, wiping his beard with a napkin. “I would imagine you’ll be snatched up quickly with that schee smile of yours.”
Looking embarrassed, she bit into the fudge. He wondered what on earth Timothy did to shatter her heart into pieces. Timothy had hinted that he wasn’t proud of how their relationship had ended. He must not have let her down too easily.
They ate in silence for a few moments. The girls finished their fudge, and Susie came over and got money from Caleb in order to purchase a few small toys. While the girls shopped, Caleb and Naomi finished their chocolate.
“How about we go into that antique place?” she asked, wiping her mouth. “I want to see that tool you need.”
He took her used napkin from her and tossed it into the trash along with his. “You forgot what I said. I don’t need it. I would like to have it.”
She grinned as she stood. “I meant to say, show me the tool that you would like to have.”
“That’s right.” They walked over to the toy shop together, and he approached the girls. “We’ll be right next door looking at the antiques. When you’re finished shopping, come over and join us.”
The girls agreed, and he and Naomi entered the antique shop, where he led her over to the tools. Her eyes widened as she glanced over the assortment of gadgets.
“Wow,” she said. “Are these the tools you use for your buggy projects?”
He grinned. “No, I actually use modern tools, but I like to collect antiques. I can use them, and sometimes I do. But mostly, I collect them for fun.”
She picked up an antique saw and studied it as if it were a precious piece of glass. “How did you start your collection?”
He picked up a hand drill. “My grossdaddi started the collection. Actually, he used the tools in his carriage shop. I like to add to it every now and then. It’s not really a frivolous expense because I can actually use them.” He turned the drill over in his hand, examining the craftsmanship.
“Is that the one you want?” she asked as she stepped over to him.
Caleb nodded. “Ya. Like I said, I don’t need it, but it would be nice to have.” He placed it back on the counter. “I guess we should go find the girls and see if my dochder is finished spending my money yet.”
“Are women ever finished spending a man’s money?” Naomi’s smile was coy.
He grinned. “If I answer that question truthfully, will I get smacked?”
She tapped her chin, feigning deep thought. “I don’t know. I suppose it depends on the answer.”
He laughed and suppressed the urge to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her in to his arms for a hug. He enjoyed her easy sense of humor. Spending time with her was akin to relaxing, a feeling he hadn’t enjoyed in months —no, more like years.
“Dat!” Susie rushed over, her three shopping bags rustling against her cloak. “I think I’m finished. I got some candy and toys. Want to see?” She held open one of the bags and found a plethora of lollipops, chocolate coins, ring pops, candy canes, marbles, small rubber balls, and little toy cars.
“Very nice, Susie.” He touched her cheek. “I think you’re going to make your freinden and cousins very happy on Christmas.”
“Are we heading home now?” Katie asked. “I think I have to help my mamm start supper.”
“Ya,” Caleb said, placing his hand on Susie’s shoulder. “I believe your dat may send out a search party if we don’t head home soon.” He glanced at Naomi. “You need to show me that Bible you were talking about earlier before we head out.”
“Ach, it’s not something I need.” Naomi waved it off as they weaved through the crowd.
Levina sidled up to Naomi and took her hand. “That pretty Bible you always visit when you come in here?”
Naomi swung her sister’s hand and smiled down at her. “It’s not something I need. I can still enjoy God’s Word with the Bible I have.”
Caleb smiled at the tenderness between the sisters and he took Susie’s hand. “We’ll stop at the book store on the way out .”
They entered the little book stand, and he followed her over to a display of Bibles.
Sylvia pointed to a plain but elegant black Bible. “This is the one she wants.”
Naomi’s cheeks were pink again. “But I really don’t need it.”
Caleb glanced at the price tag. “Would you want your name engraved on the front?”
Naomi shook her head. “Oh, it’s just too much. I couldn’t expect you to —”
“Ya, she does,” Levina chimed in. “Mamm and Dat have one that was engraved for them on their wedding day, and Naomi has always thought that was a nice gift. She said she wants one with her name on it too.”
“Levina,” Naomi gently scolded. “You need to mind your own business.”
Janie glanced toward the clock on the wall. “We better go,” she said, starting toward the door. “I don’t want my dat angry with me. You know how he gets.”
Caleb nodded, knowing how short his brother-in-law’s temper could be. He distinctly remembered the early years of Sadie’s marriage to Robert, when he’d yell at her for things as simple as supper not being ready at his requested time.
Once the girls were loaded into the back of the buggy, Caleb climbed into the buggy seat next to Naomi. “Do you want me to drop you and your sisters off at home?”
She nodded. “That would be wunderbaar.”
While the girls chatted about snow and Christmas, Caleb and Naomi rode in silence. He wondered if she’d had as much fun as he’d had today. He wished the afternoon didn’t have to end. The idea of moving back to Bird-in-Hand swirled through his mind. Should he go look at that shop? Should he make an offer on the place if it was a good deal? Did he want to uproot Susie? Was he entitled to the happiness he could possibly have here in Lancaster County?
Out the corner of his eye, he spotted his daughter laughing with her cousin and Naomi’s sisters. If he moved her here, he wouldn’t so much as uproot her as give her a sense of family. Surely, she would miss her friends back in Ohio, but she would also make new friends, including Naomi’s sisters and Naomi herself.
“Turn here,” Naomi said, breaking through his thoughts. “Then go about half a mile and turn right.”
“Oh,” Caleb said with a smile. “You’re not far at all from Sadie’s house.”
Naomi shook her head. “Just a little ways, really.”
“Close enough to walk,” he said, steering around a corner.
“Ya,” she said, lifting her purse from the floorboard. “I think Susie got all that she wanted today.”
“I think so,” he said.
She pointed toward a large, white farmhouse. “That’s it.”
“Danki for coming,” he said as he steered toward her drive way.
“Danki for the invitation,” she said, turning toward him. “I had a nice time.”
“I did too.” And he hoped that they could get together again sometime soon.
“Let’s go, girls,” Naomi said, facing her sisters. “We have to get started on supper.” She opened the door, hopped down from the buggy, and helped her sisters down. After saying good-bye to the girls in the back, Naomi turned to Caleb. “Have a nice evening.”
“You too,” he said. “I hope to see you again soon.”
She smiled. “Ya, I do too.” She said good-bye to the girls and then hurried toward the house with her sisters in tow.
As Caleb steered toward Sadie’s house, he decided he needed to check into that shop that Timothy had recommended, and an unfamiliar excitement filled him.
CHAPTER 9
Go wash up,” Na
omi told her siblings as she set the table later that evening. “Supper is almost ready.”
The children filed out of the kitchen, and Naomi lined the plates up on the long table.
Her mother placed a large bowl of mashed potatoes at the center of the table. “Did you have fun today?”
“Ya,” Naomi said, snatching a handful of utensils from the drawer. “Susie wanted to shop for Christmas gifts for her cousins and friends. She, Janie, Sylvia, and Levina had a gut time shopping, and Caleb and I just walked around and talked.”
“What did you and Caleb discuss?” Irma began to fill a platter with homemade rolls.
“Oh, nothing much.” Naomi lined the utensils up by the place settings. “We talked about Christmas and things like that. He’s very easy to talk to. We had a nice time together.” She didn’t want to admit they’d talked about her doomed relationships.
Irma gave Naomi a hard look, and Naomi wished she hadn’t even mentioned Caleb’s name.
Rather than argue about Naomi’s track record with dating, Naomi decided to change the subject. “How did the quilt turn out? Did you get it finished before the customer arrived?”
Irma placed the platter next to the rolls and glowered. “I hope you’re not getting any ideas about this widower, Naomi. You know he’s going back to Ohio after the holidays and you’re just going to get your heart broken if you get too attached.”
Naomi breathed out a deep sigh. “Mamm, I know that. He’s just a freind.”
Her mother continued to frown. “Don’t make a fool of yourself again. You never should’ve gone out with him today. You know how that will look to the rest of the community.”
“He invited me,” Naomi said, pointing to her chest. “It wasn’t my idea. In fact, I think it was Susie’s idea. She really likes me, and I enjoy spending time with her too. You know she lost her mamm only two years ago. For some reason, she’s latched on to me, and how can I turn her away?”
Irma wagged a finger at Naomi. “You can’t be her mamm. That’s not your place.”
“I never said I wanted to be her mother. I just want to be her freind. Is that so wrong?”
“Ach, no.” Irma shook her head. “But I know you, Naomi. You get too attached, and that will only lead to trouble.”
Naomi shook her head. “I can’t do anything right in your eyes, can I, Mamm? The way you see it, I mess up completely when it comes to love, and I’m destined to be alone.”
“I wasn’t speaking of love,” Irma said, pulling the broccoli and rice casserole from the oven. “I was talking about perceptions. It just didn’t look right for you to go out shopping with that widower and his dochder. It looked very inappropriate, and you know how people talk.”
“I don’t see how any of my behavior was inappropriate, Mamm.” Naomi wished her voice wouldn’t quaver with her frustration. She grabbed a handful of napkins and began adding them to the place settings in order to keep busy and stop her threatening tears. She was tired of her mother’s constant criticism. “It was Susie’s idea, and I didn’t want to disappoint her. I even invited Levina, Sylvia, and Janie to join us in order to quell any rumors that Sadie Kauffman might feel the need to start about me.”
Irma set the casserole dish on the table and pursed her lips. “I know you’re not trying to give people the wrong impression, but I know how they think. If you even go for a walk alone with a man, some women assume things they shouldn’t about you.”
“Why should I care what people think of me?”
“It reflects on this family, Naomi.” Irma set the potholders on the counter and then lowered her voice. “How do you think your dat will feel if he hears people call you too eager?”
Naomi shook her head. “He would know that I’m not those things, and he would defend me.”
Irma touched Naomi’s shoulder. “I know you. I know your heart and how you get too attached too soon.”
“I’m not attached,” Naomi insisted, even though she knew it wasn’t the whole truth. “He’s mei freind, Mamm. What’s wrong with being freinden with him?”
Irma gave her a sympathetic expression. “I’ve seen the way you look at him and the way you blush when he’s around. Your feelings for him are written all over your schee face, Naomi.”
Naomi cupped a hand to her mouth. “They are?”
“Ya.” Irma touched Naomi’s cheek. “I don’t want to see you get hurt again. I remember clearly the pain you suffered when you had your heart broken by Luke Troyer and then Timothy Kauffman. I don’t want to see you suffer that again, and I don’t want you to get a reputation.”
“Caleb and I are just freinden, Mamm,” she repeated, her voice quavering.
Irma raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Is that what you’re trying to convince yourself?”
A lump swelled in Naomi’s throat as tears filled her eyes. “It’s the truth, Mamm.”
“He’s a widower, Naomi,” she said. “He’s not ready to give his heart away.”
“I know,” Naomi whispered. “I’ve already considered that, and I respect his feelings for his fraa.”
Her siblings returned to the kitchen with a roar of footsteps, chatter, and giggles, and Naomi breathed a sigh of relief. She longed for her mother’s focus to turn to someone other than her.
“Lizzie Anne,” Naomi called over the noise. “Would you please grab the glasses from the cabinet?” She glanced at her younger sisters. “You can put the glasses out by the dishes.”
Lizzie Anne instructed Amos to go out to the barn and call Elam and their father to come in for supper. She then gave Naomi a concerned expression, but Naomi quickly looked away and turned toward the refrigerator.
Irma grabbed Naomi’s arm and pulled her back. “Caleb will go home to Ohio soon,” she whispered in Naomi’s ear. “Don’t let him take your heart with him. You’ve been hurt enough.”
Naomi sighed with defeat. “Yes, Mamm,” she said before grabbing the pitcher of ice water and the tub of butter. She took a deep, cleansing breath, pushing away the emotions rioting within her. She knew her mother was right about Caleb’s plans to return to Ohio. However, Naomi also couldn’t squelch the notion that the feelings she had for Caleb were different from anything she’d ever felt for Luke Troyer or Timothy Kauffman. What she felt for Caleb was deeper, something that touched her soul.
Lizzie Anne sidled up to Naomi. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
Naomi nodded. “Ya. I’m gut.”
Lizzie Anne frowned. “You look upset.”
“Wie geht’s?” Titus’s voice boomed as he entered the kitchen. “It smells appeditlich.”
Naomi forced a smile and touched her sister’s arm. “Danki,” she whispered, “but I’m fine.”
Lizzie Anne gave her a look of disbelief.
“It’s all ready,” Irma said. “Kinner, please take your seats.”
Naomi delivered the pitcher of water and the butter, placing them near her father’s seat, and then sat in her usual place, which was between Lizzie Anne and Elam. As she bowed her head in silent prayer, she asked God to guide her in her confusing feelings for Caleb Schmucker.
“Did you have a gut day?” Caleb asked Susie as he sat on the edge of her bed and tucked her in.
“Of course I did, gegisch.” Susie grinned, hugging her favorite doll to her white nightgown.
He smirked and rubbed her brunette head. Glancing toward the hallway, he wondered how much time he’d have alone with Susie before her cousins came clambering in from the bathroom down the hall. He leaned in close. “Susie, how would you feel about selling our house in Ohio and moving here?”
She gasped, her big, green eyes rounding with excitement. “You mean, like live here forever, Dat?”
“Ya.” He touched the tip of her little nose. “Forever.”
She screeched, and he pressed a finger to her lips shushing her.
“Your onkel will get very upset if he hears you yell like that,” he said.
“Are we going to live here?” s
he asked, sitting up and gesturing around the room. “Then I can stay in this room with Janie, Nancy, and Linda, and I could go to school with them.” Her smile widened. “And maybe I could learn to quilt with Aenti Sadie and Naomi. And we could go shopping again with Naomi, and I could play with her sisters. Right, Dat?”
He brushed his fingers through her long, brown hair. “Ya, maybe so.” And I could spend more time with Naomi as well.
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. “Ich liebe dich, Dat.”
“I love you too, boppli,” he whispered before he kissed the top of her head.
Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to God, asking Him for help with this decision. While he felt in his heart it was time to move back home, a small part of his mind was apprehensive. It seemed all the signs were there leading him back home: his family, his friends, the welcoming of the church district members, and the possible opportunity of a job. But was he moving for the right reasons? Would this be a new start or would he be trying to outrun the loneliness that had overtaken his soul when Barbara died? Was he doing this for selfish reasons or did he have his daughter’s best interests in mind?
“Dat?”
Opening his eyes, he found Susie studying him. “Ya?”
Wrinkling her nose, she gave him a confused expression. “Were you sleeping or praying?”
He touched her cheek. “I was praying.”
“What were you praying about?”
“I was asking God if He thought we should move back here.”
“Oh.” She nodded, her expression serious. “And what do you think God’s answer was?”
He smiled. “I’m not certain yet, but I’ll tell you when He gives me a sign.”
“Do you think He’ll give me a sign too?”
“Maybe.”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “You know what Naomi told me?”
“What?”
“She told me that she believes in Christmas miracles,” Susie whispered. “Do you believe in them?”
Sighing, he gave her a gentle smile. “Sure I do, Susie.”
Muted giggles and loud thumping footsteps echoed down the hallway, announcing the arrival of Susie’s cousins. Caleb stood as the girls entered the room and jumped into the beds.