by Jo Ann Brown
“My sister’s girls go there,” Robert said, surprising her because she hadn’t heard him come to stand behind her. “Thanks for the suggestion.”
“Glad to help.” She pushed a button on the wall by the cubbyholes, then a second one.
Within a minute, an elderly woman came into the office. She was introduced as the teacher assistant who would escort the two older children to their classrooms. Again, Dougie looked obstinate and Crystal eager.
Telling them that she’d be back to pick them up at the end of the school day, Beth Ann gave each of them a quick kiss on the forehead and watched as they left. Tommy’s eyes began to fill with tears until she told him that she had a special surprise for him once they were done in the office. His grin returned.
She turned back to the counter as Ms. Cramer said, “Let’s get this paperwork filled out. You sign here, Robert. The mayor explained you’d be taking care of the children, too.” Ms. Cramer smiled. “I’ve got to tell you she’s pleased to hear you’ll be helping Beth Ann with the children. She had lots of good things to say about you.”
Beth Ann read disbelief on his face. Why would he think the mayor would bad-mouth him? Remembering how he’d exchanged words with Gladys about the covered bridge, she realized he thought the mayor would resent him for speaking his mind. She wanted to tell him that was stupid, people didn’t act like that.
His expression warned he wouldn’t believe her. She couldn’t help wondering who had left him hurt and distrustful.
* * *
“Mayor Whittaker vouched for me?” Robert put one hand on the edge of the counter, needing something to connect him to reality. He hadn’t expected the mayor to give him a character reference. Not a gut one, at any rate. While he’d helped Beth Ann and the kinder move into the apartment, he’d found ways to avoid the mayor so she couldn’t remind him how weak his grip on his temper was.
“She did.” The woman’s glasses rose on her apple-red cheeks as she smiled. “Said you were willing to do whatever was necessary to help the town, and it seems as if you found a good cause to get behind. It’s a shame what’s happened to those kids.”
Before Ms. Cramer could add anything else, the phone rang. She went to a desk flanked by two tall filing cabinets.
Robert held the door for Beth Ann and Tommy before shutting it behind himself. He heard familiar voices and looked between the temporary classrooms to see Dougie with the teacher’s aide, frowning. Did the boy have a real reason for not wanting to be in school, or was he annoyed the adults in his life insisted he attend?
Beth Ann would have to ferret it out of the boy. Dougie didn’t speak to Robert unless necessary. Maybe it was for the best the kinder weren’t getting attached to him. He’d spent more time with them in the past few days than he could afford. Putting off searching for a job much longer would be stupid when his daed’s debts needed to be paid by June. He had no idea how he’d earn enough to reimburse the man, and he didn’t want to ask his sisters to bail him out.
He knew he was going to disappoint Beth Ann, but he had no idea how else to pay his daed’s debts and begin his life anew without that shadow lurking over him.
Chapter Six
Beth Ann wasn’t surprised when, as they walked away from the school trailers, Robert said he had to get to work. She asked him to tell the others she wouldn’t be there that day because she had to arrange for Tommy to be enrolled at the day care center. With a curt nod, Robert strode toward Washboard Brook and the new houses north of the center of Evergreen Corners.
He acted as if he couldn’t wait to get away from her and the children. Guilt tugged at her. Had she forced him into helping because she was overwhelmed with being responsible for three children? He’d come to Evergreen Corners to help rebuild, and he was assisting with finishing the apartments in David Riehl’s barn. In addition, he wanted to make sure the covered bridge didn’t collapse. Instead of respecting how much he had on his mind, she’d roped him into helping her with the kids.
Somehow, she needed to apologize to him for assuming he had the time and energy to help. While she’d been praying for God to show her a way to move forward with her life, his prayers were very different.
She shuddered. If she apologized, would he think that she didn’t want him to help further? She must choose her words with care. She didn’t want the children to feel as if they were being abandoned again.
You enjoy his company, too, chided her conscience.
Robert could be prickly, but he wasn’t able to hide his generous heart. He’d come to Evergreen Corners to volunteer and make a difference.
Tommy tugged on her sleeve, yanking her from her thoughts. “Me next?”
“You are next,” she said with a smile. She swung their hands as they walked along the sidewalk bordered by icy snow.
Watching his uneven steps, she asked, “Have you ever seen a brace like mine, Tommy?”
He glanced at her leg, then shook his head. “Nope.”
“So you’ve never worn one, too?”
“Nope.” Confusion knitted his forehead.
Not wanting to upset the little boy, she changed the subject to Thanksgiving, which was the following week. She asked about what he wanted to eat and laughed when he suggested quesadillas.
“Quesadillas for Thanksgiving? That’s interesting.”
Bouncing from one foot to the other and swaying on his weak leg, he said, “Yummy, too.” Without a pause, he asked, “What’s a quesadilla?”
Again she chuckled. “Sort of like a grilled cheese sandwich but with a tortilla instead of bread. You haven’t ever had one?”
He shook his head. “I heard someone talking about them.”
“Well, we’ll have to try making some. Not for Thanksgiving, because I don’t think I’d like them with turkey.”
“Okay,” he said before he began chattering about everything around them as they walked to the small white church near the bridge at the village’s heart. He was interested in the activity at the old mill. It was the last building on the four corners that hadn’t reopened, but the mill, which housed artists and artisans, was scheduled to open its doors soon.
“I don’t know,” Beth Ann had to say more than once as he asked questions about the building. She didn’t know what had been made there. She didn’t know if there would be shops selling candy or ice cream. “I’ll try to find out.”
That seemed to satisfy him because the little boy began to talk about how fun it was to drop branches off the bridge and watch them zip away on the current between the ice edging both banks like the crust of a half-eaten pie.
Tommy became silent as Beth Ann led him into the cellar of the church. His voice vanished when they were enfolded by the sounds of other children, happy children who were singing what she guessed was a nursery rhyme.
The room was decorated in a rainbow of colors splashed across the tables and the chairs, the pictures on the walls, and rubber tiles on the floor. One of the half dozen children pointed toward them, and a woman who must be Gwen O’Malley smiled at them. In her long denim skirt and simple blouse, she looked plain. She didn’t wear a kapp and her hair, as red as Tommy’s, was loose around her shoulders.
Beth Ann introduced herself and Tommy and explained why they were there.
Gwen nodded, her sympathetic eyes becoming cheerful. “Of course, we’d love to have Tommy join us.”
“The paperwork—”
“Can be filled out when you come to pick him up.” Gwen’s smile widened. “We’re having fun, and this would be a good time for Tommy to join us.”
With a grateful smile, Beth Ann bent to tell Tommy he was going to stay and she was leaving.
His lower lip began to tremble. “Don’t leave me, too,” he moaned.
She closed her eyes as his pain battered her heart. “I’m coming back, Tommy. I promise.”
“Aunt Sh
aron said that.”
“I am coming back. If I don’t pick you up, who will help me frost the cake for dessert tonight?”
His face brightened. “Don’t forget!”
“I won’t.” She’d stop at the village’s general store and get confectioner’s sugar to make a simple buttercream frosting to spread on a layer cake that had been waiting in a box on the landing that morning. She should be able to manage not to mess it up.
“I get penders?”
“Let’s see what happens after we decorate the cake.” She had no idea what he meant, but maybe she’d guess by the time she picked him up. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“So you’ll stay with us?” asked Gwen as she held out her hand.
Tommy grasped it. “Do you have crayons?”
“Lots and lots,” she said with a laugh.
“And pretty paper?”
“Take a look around, Tommy. We’ve got a lot of crayons and paper.”
“Dougie and Crystal made pictures at school. Mommy used to put them on the fridge. I want to make you pictures, Beth Ann. Will you put them on the fridge, too?”
“I’d be honored to decorate our kitchen with your pictures, Tommy.”
The little boy chattered with Gwen as if they were best friends.
Beth Ann left while he was distracted. At the small general store not far from the library, she discovered they didn’t sell confectioner’s sugar. She didn’t have time to go to the big grocery store at the edge of town. Her dismay must have shown, because the young girl behind the counter suggested she might be able to borrow some from the community center kitchen.
Thanking her for the suggestion, Beth Ann headed in that direction. She’d take the sugar to the apartment, giving herself the chance to put in a load of laundry. She’d have a head start on the chore she needed to have done if the kids were going to have something clean to wear tomorrow. They needed more clothing, but it would have to wait until the first check arrived from DCF.
She paused to stamp snow off her boots. She opened the door and was about to call a greeting, but halted when she saw a group gathered in the main room. The women—all plain except for one Englisch woman—looked up from their sewing machines.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You aren’t interrupting.” Abby Kauffman, who oversaw the kitchen volunteers, stood. Her right cheek was streaked with whatever she’d been baking in the kitchen for the evening meal.
“What’s going on?”
“A project aimed at keeping you out of the laundry room every day. Robert told his sister and me you’ve been spending too much time there.”
“I don’t understand.”
Abby flung her hand toward the tables holding stacks of clothing. “Those have been donated by folks in town. We’re making sure they’ll fit Dougie, Crystal and Tommy. The buttons are being sewn on and the seams secured.”
Beth Ann put her fingers to her lips to hold in her gasp. There must have been enough clothing for a dozen children. “The children are growing fast. They’ll outgrow these clothes before you know it.”
“Don’t worry,” said the elderly Englisch woman. “We’re leaving nice big hems so they can be let down. I taught that lesson in my home ec classes.”
Abby chuckled. “That’s right, Doris.” To Beth Ann, she added, “Doris taught sewing and cooking classes at the high school. She’s our expert. By the time we’re finished following her instructions, each of your children will have enough clothes to last them a week or two.”
“Thank you.” For the first time in more than a year, Beth Ann felt as if she belonged somewhere with people who cared about her. She hadn’t known how alone she’d felt in the wake of her grandmother’s death and the loss of her clinic.
And she realized something else. Robert had instigated this to help her and the children. It wasn’t the act of a man who wanted to wash his hands of three troublesome kids and one demanding woman.
Warmth swept over her, and tears rolled down her cheeks. As Abby gave her a hug, Beth Ann hurried to reassure her and the other women she was crying with joy. They teased her about how she’d be able to spend her time when she wasn’t doing laundry.
She welcomed the jokes because they were a sign she was becoming a true part of the plain community in Evergreen Corners. The laughter also concealed her delight at learning she hadn’t coerced Robert into helping. His sympathy for the hours she devoted to laundry and how he’d stepped up without any fanfare to help kept her smiling the rest of the day.
* * *
Robert paused on the street and looked in the direction of the covered bridge. Clouds were low, and with the earlier sunset, the bridge was obscured in twilight. He didn’t want to think about the disappointing discussion with Glen Landis earlier.
The bridge was worth saving, though the recovery project manager had guessed the town would need to put in millions of dollars even if the state agreed to pay for the rest of the repairs. Robert wasn’t going to give up. The battered bridge refused to give in. It spoke to him in a way he hadn’t expected. He’d been beaten, too, but he’d weathered his daed’s outbursts. Since his return to Evergreen Corners, he’d spent so much time staring at the structure and wandering around on it that he could re-create every inch by memory.
Just as he could Beth Ann’s face.
The realization shook him. Too often during the day, thoughts of her slipped into his mind. Sometimes, it was when he heard her voice or her laughter from another room, but images of her smile too frequently managed to sneak into his head. Every effort to halt it had been worthless.
Heading to the community center, he intended to surround himself with other people, people who could help him keep his mind off Beth Ann and the kinder. He’d lose himself in talk of work and the weather and anything but a woman with remarkable green eyes.
He opened the door and stepped inside, drawing in the delicious aroma of roasted chicken and fresh kaffi. As he started to shrug off his coat, he heard his name called from the kitchen.
His sister Rachel rushed to him. Her hair beneath her white kapp was as black as his, but she was short while he towered over everyone around them. However, anyone who underestimated his sister because of her size was put to rights. She was, without question, one of the smartest people he’d ever met. Her ability to look at a problem and find a solution was one he envied.
So why haven’t you told her about Daed’s debts and how you’re struggling to find a way to repay them?
He ignored that question as he smiled and greeted her. “Where are the girls? They can eat with me, if you’d like. I’m getting quite a bit of experience in helping the little kinder with their meals.”
His nieces were younger than the Henderson kids, but the skills he’d learned helping Tommy would serve as well with little Loribeth and Eva.
“Danki, but the girls have already eaten.” She crooked a finger and turned. “Komm with me. I’ve got a job for you.”
His heart kicked up its speed, but he reminded himself she had no idea he needed a job and how fruitless his efforts of asking around town had been. “Now?”
“Ja.” She hooked her arm through his. “Don’t look so glum, little brother.”
“What do you need me to do?” He went into the kitchen and waved to the women working under Abby’s supervision.
Rachel pointed to two large grocery bags on a table. “Take those to Beth Ann’s.”
“What?”
“You were here when she brought Dougie Henderson in, and you saw how much he liked chicken and biscuits. We’re having it again for supper tonight, so Abby thought we should send some to Beth Ann and the kinder.”
“Abby thought, did she?”
Rachel flushed. “There’s enough for them...and for you, if you’d like.”
“Playing matchmaker, ain’t so?”
“Me?” She shook her head. “You know how much I disliked it when Abby tried to play matchmaker for me and Isaac.”
If his sister hadn’t...? Abby ducked her head as she went to check something on the stove. Maybe his sister wasn’t trying to interfere, but Abby hadn’t given up her matchmaking ways.
He considered telling them they had the wrong man. He halted himself. The kinder had enjoyed the chicken and biscuits the night he and Beth Ann had discovered them in the appalling house. If he refused to take the bags to the apartment, he was thinking of his own feelings, not theirs.
“All right,” he said, picking up both bags by their sturdy handles.
“Tell Beth Ann to send the dishes back when they’re empty.” Rachel winked at him. “Or you can bring them back yourself.”
“Matchmaking doesn’t look gut on you, big sister.”
She slapped his arm. “Go on. The food is getting cold.”
Robert walked into the main room. Every eye focused on him as he opened the door. Was everyone in the plain community involved in Abby’s matchmaking? Telling himself not to be ridiculous, he left.
The clouds lurking in a low ridge across the sky had descended to envelop the top of the mountains in a gray wool embrace. Snowflakes flew on gusts of wind cold enough for the North Pole.
Delicious scents from the bags made his stomach rumble, and he quickened his steps up the sloped street. He glanced at the windows glowing onto the mayor’s front porch. No sign of her, which was just as well. The best thing he could do was deliver supper and leave.
When Robert knocked on the door, he heard eager squeals of “I’ll get it.”
Both Tommy and Crystal stood there as the door swung open.
“It’s Robert!” Tommy shouted.