by Jo Ann Brown
“Come in!” Crystal reached out to grab his hand, but halted when she saw the bags. “He’s brought presents!”
Dougie asked from the couch, “Presents?”
Robert stepped inside as Beth Ann emerged from the bunkroom. Her arms were filled with clothing. Clothing for the kinder, he realized when she set it on a chair.
“Some of the ladies have been remaking clothes for the children,” Beth Ann said in lieu of a greeting. “Apparently I’ve been complaining about doing laundry too much.”
“You haven’t,” he replied.
“You have!” chorused three kinder, and the younger two began to giggle.
Tommy asked, “Any penders?”
“Penders?” She looked at the older kinder. “Do you know what he means?”
“Penders! Like his!” He pointed to Robert’s chest before looking at Beth Ann. “He’s wearing penders.”
“Suspenders.” Robert laughed.
“Want some!” Tommy pleaded. “Can I have some, please?”
She put her arm around his shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “Let’s see what we can find next time at the store. What do you have there, Robert?”
“Supper.” He held up the bags. “Chicken and biscuits, to be exact. Abby remembered how much you like them, so she sent servings for you. Anyone interested?”
“Yes!” shouted the kinder.
“They’re getting tired of my lack of cooking skills,” Beth Ann said with a rueful smile.
“I’m sure you—”
Dougie interrupted, “Don’t say that until you’ve had her scorched cookies.”
“I had delicious ones when you moved in.”
“Gladys made those,” she admitted, a pretty blush climbing her cheeks. “I’ve never learned to cook or bake, though I try. So this delivery from the community center kitchen is extra welcome, isn’t it, kids?”
Without being asked, the kids rushed to set the table.
“There’s your answer,” Beth Ann said with a laugh. “You’ll be staying, too, won’t you, Robert? Or did you have other plans tonight?”
He appreciated her giving him a way to leave without any explanation, but he was astonished he was also annoyed she thought he needed it. He was further irritated she was right. He’d spent the walk up to the apartment planning to leave as soon as he delivered the meal.
“I’ll get you a chair, Robert!” announced Crystal before he could answer.
Beth Ann started to speak, but he shook his head to let her know he was okay with the girl bringing another chair to the table.
Minutes later, they were seated around the table, their heads bowed while Beth Ann said grace. He added his own silent prayer before he lifted his head and reached for his knife and fork.
The younger kinder wanted to share every detail of their day, but Dougie stared at his plate and scowled. That didn’t stop the older boy from shoveling food into his mouth so fast Robert had to wonder if he tasted it.
When Beth Ann stood to get the dessert included with their dinner, Robert offered to help her bring it in. He saw her amazement, and again was impressed with how much she understood about Amish ways. Men didn’t help in the kitchen, but most Amish men hadn’t encountered a situation like this one.
He was pleased to discover Abby had put a blueberry pie and an apple one into the bags.
“Which should we have?” he asked.
“Whichever you prefer. A few days ago, I would have said the apple one, because I’m not sure I could get blueberry stains out of Tommy’s clothes. Now he’s got lots to wear.”
He laughed along with her. Being with Beth Ann was easy tonight. In the wake of a difficult day, he appreciated her sense of humor that pushed aside worry. He guessed it was a technique she’d refined as a midwife when nervous parents awaited the arrival of their bopplin.
Offering to slice cheese to go along with the warm pie, he did so until a white-hot pain sliced across the index finger on his left hand. “Ouch!”
“What did you do?” she asked as she turned from where she was setting a piece of pie on a plate.
He examined his bleeding finger. “Cut it on the knife.”
She held out her hand, but said nothing. He didn’t put his bloody finger on her palm. Instead, he held it up in front of her eyes. Taking his hand, she turned it one way, then the other.
“It doesn’t look as if it’ll need stitches, but we need to get it tended to,” she said with gentle authority.
“I’m a big boy. I don’t need my mamm bandaging my boo-boos.”
She smiled. “Big boys know how important it is to get an antiseptic on a cut.” She turned on the tap. “Hold it under the water while I get the first aid kit.”
The icy water sent pain erupting from his finger, but he held it under the faucet, knowing she was right. He needed to get the wound clean.
She came back with a small white box. With a few deft moves, she cleaned his finger and spread ointment on the cut. She put a pad against his finger and bound it in place with gauze.
“Leave this on until tomorrow morning,” she said. “You’ll have to be careful when you peel the bandaging off because it probably will stick to you. If there’s a problem, soak it in warm, soapy water until the bandaging loosens.”
“Soapy water? What kind of soap?”
She smiled. “Dish detergent works fine, but make sure the water is clean and change it before you do the dishes.”
“I would have figured that out on my own.”
“You’d be surprised how many don’t.”
He looked from her to his finger. “Danki.”
Putting what she’d used into the first aid box, she said, “You’re welcome. Try to use the knife as it’s intended, okay?”
“Ja, especially when I’m not with a midwife.”
“Former midwife.”
He frowned, unable to mistake the sudden emptiness in her voice. “You’ve given up the work?”
“I’m not licensed in Vermont.” She changed the subject before he could probe further. “The kids won’t be patient much longer waiting on their slices of pie.” She picked up three plates and motioned for him to grab the other two.
He followed her into the main room where he served himself and Crystal. The kinder were as thrilled with the blueberry pie as he was, and everyone was shocked when Tommy finished every bite without dropping any on himself...until he spilled his milk in his excitement.
By the time Beth Ann had cleaned up the little boy, it was late enough to get the kinder ready for bed. Dougie was allowed to stay up an hour later, but he had homework to fill his time.
Robert cleaned the table, rinsed off the dishes and repacked what he’d brought in one bag. There weren’t any leftovers, except for the untouched apple pie, despite Abby sending enough for a half dozen men who were starving after a long day of physical labor.
Beth Ann came into the kitchen with two chairs. She set them in the middle of the room. “Would you like another cup of coffee?”
“Too late if I want to get any sleep tonight.”
“I’ve got decaf.”
He was reluctant to let the evening end. He stared out the window, where the gentle snowstorm had become a wind-whipped swirl of ice and flakes. Thinking about the distance he had to walk to get home, he knew it would be better to have something warm inside him. “Sounds gut.”
When she set a steaming cup and a piece of the pie on the counter beside him, he reached to close the door.
She halted him and shifted the door to where it’d been. “If you close it, I can’t see any eavesdroppers.”
Swallowing his chuckle, he reached for the cup and sat on the chair beside the counter. He sighed before he could halt himself.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Okay.”
�
��Just okay? Did something go wrong today at the project house?”
“Not at the house. I spoke with Glen about the bridge.”
“Glen’s a nice guy.”
He took a sip of his kaffi. “I agree, but he reminded me his job is rebuilding homes.”
“What about the bridge? It’s an important structure, too, isn’t it?”
“While folks are inconvenienced by having to drive out of their way, they can get in and out without the bridge. They’ve got homes. He’s saving resources for those who don’t. He spoke about having to get a structural engineer and experienced stonemasons and carpenters to rebuild the bridge.”
“Abby’s brother, Isaac, is a mason. Can’t he—?”
“I’ve been told Isaac doesn’t feel he’s got the skills for what the bridge requires. He’s an expert with pouring foundations for houses, not a bridge.”
“Why is this so important to you?”
He almost answered her question with a trite response. He halted himself. She’d listened, even before the kinder brought them more deeply into each other’s lives. She deserved an honest answer.
“I need the work,” he said.
“More than you’re already doing?”
“I need a paying job if I hope to stay in Evergreen Corners.”
“Are you looking to buy a farm?”
He shook his head and laughed. “I know every Amish man is supposed to want to be a farmer, but I’ve had enough of that life. Old Terry—”
“Who?”
“He was our neighbor when I was about Dougie’s age.” He looked past her as he spoke the boy’s name, but if Dougie had heard him, the boy gave no sign. “He was a woodworker, and he taught me to appreciate wood and the beautiful and useful things made from it.”
She got up and refilled their cups. “So you’re looking for a temporary job until you get your shop open?”
“Ja.” He wouldn’t reveal the truth about his daed’s debts. His sisters would have helped. For him. Not for Daed. People would be curious about why they were such unloving kinder. Tales of his daed’s uncontrolled temper would emerge, and eyes would begin to watch Robert for signs he was like Manassas Yoder.
It had happened before. In Ohio when rumors of the abuse rumbled through the plain community. He didn’t want to have to face scrutiny again.
Beth Ann sat. “Have you talked to Isaac himself about the bridge?”
“No.”
“Instead of asking everyone else, talk to him. If he agrees to help, you’ll be in a stronger position. If he doesn’t...” She leaned forward. “I’ll be praying he says yes. I mean, he says ja.”
He guessed she was teasing him to pull him out of his bad mood, and he had to admit she was doing a great job. She was sensible, persuasive and lovely as the kitchen light lit auburn flickers through her hair. An idea popped into his head, and he gave it voice before he could convince himself not to.
“Isaac is up north. Rachel said he’ll be home by Thanksgiving. Komm to Thanksgiving with us. She’s been wanting to meet you and the kinder. It’s the least I can do to say danki for bandaging my finger.”
“True. It’s the least you can do when your sister is making the meal.”
He chuckled. Trading words with Beth Ann was fun. When she agreed to bring the Henderson kids, he felt something open up deep inside him, something he hadn’t known existed. Happiness. Simple, thrilling happiness.
However, he warned himself he couldn’t let himself enjoy her company too much. Savoring it could lead to the courtship that whispers suggested they already were sharing. He must not offer her more than friendship when he couldn’t be certain when the beast of his temper would awaken.
Because his mamm, when she warned about how an uncontrollable temper infected all Yoder men, might not have been wrong.
Chapter Seven
Tommy didn’t expect an answer from Beth Ann while he rattled off every activity he’d done since she’d taken him to day care on the morning before Thanksgiving. He was most excited about making a “turkey” by tracing his hand and coloring it.
Beth Ann smiled. The drawing meant as much to Tommy as his stuffed bear. He’d made her promise she’d put it on the fridge, and she would as soon as they reached the apartment.
Listening to him was like music after hearing the pounding of nail guns putting on shingles all afternoon. The project house was scheduled to be done in two weeks, and the volunteers were thrilled to be ready to hand the next-to-last house to its new owners. Each person became more energetic and resourceful as the finish line drew closer. Work that had seemed tedious days before was infused with excitement.
As they walked along a snowy path on the village green, Beth Ann kept an eye on the ground. Tommy’s uneven steps made ice even more treacherous. She wished she could get him to see Dr. Kingsley, but Pastor Hershey had advised her to wait until the social worker assigned to the kids contacted her. She’d made sure the cell phone she’d used with patients was charged, and she carried it with her wherever she went. So far, there hadn’t been a call from the social worker, Deana Etheridge, and tomorrow was a holiday.
If Tommy had to wear a brace, would he be taunted as she’d been? Would he have someone he believed might be interested in him turn away, disgusted because the plastic kept his foot from slapping the ground?
Don’t think about that! she told herself as she had every time her mind wandered to Webster Gerig and Ted Contreras. The men who had flirted with her after church while she was sitting and they didn’t notice her brace.
Robert doesn’t seem bothered by your brace.
Why couldn’t her brain be quiet instead of yakking like Tommy?
Beth Ann turned her attention to the little boy so she could avoid confronting her own thoughts. He was excited about showing off his picture to his brother and sister. As they walked along, she waved to familiar people and made sure the little boy avoided the deepest snowbanks. He’d want to play with his siblings after they got out of school, and she didn’t want his boots filled with snow that would melt and refreeze when he went outside again.
By the time she got Tommy home, had hung up his picture on the refrigerator with a magnet left behind by a previous tenant and had him seated at the table with fruit juice and one of Gladys’s delicious chocolate chip cookies, Crystal and Dougie arrived home. Beth Ann poured juice for them and brought the chipped rabbit cookie jar in from the kitchen. Setting the treats in the middle of the table, she waited until they’d pulled off their backpacks and hung them with their coats in the closet by the door.
“How was your day at school?” she asked as they took their seats and helped themselves to cookies and juice.
Dougie shrugged, and Crystal didn’t meet her eyes.
Beth Ann sighed. She recognized those silent responses. The kids had wanted to avoid answering her questions. Pushing them would make them more stubborn and taciturn. She was curious why they didn’t talk about school, but she’d save her questions until later. They remained distrustful of adults, and she couldn’t blame them. They’d been abandoned by the people who should have been most concerned about them.
Her phone rang, and she pulled it from her apron pocket.
“You’ve got a cell phone?” asked Dougie. “I thought Amish people didn’t have those.”
As she put the phone to her ear, she didn’t bother to remind him—again—she wasn’t Amish. She held up one finger to let Dougie know she’d answer his question after she finished the call. Her hope it was Deana Etheridge vanished when a robotic voice congratulated her on being selected for a discount on a new roof.
She chuckled. The telemarketer had no idea how her ears rang from the nail gun’s thumps all day.
Seeing Dougie with his arms folded and a scowl, she said, “Dougie, help me get the laundry. While we’re doing that, I’ll explain why I have a cell pho
ne.”
“I shoulda known you’d find a way to turn a question into chores. Will I have to help you fold it, too?”
Trying not to smile at his tone that suggested the job was a waking nightmare, she asked, “Crystal, can I count on you to fold the clothes with me?”
The girl brightened. “Can I?”
Dougie grumbled something under his breath about her being a loser.
Beth Ann decided to ignore him. When he was in such a foul mood, chastising him was futile. He became more annoyed...and more annoying.
Instead, she handed him his coat while she told Crystal to make sure neither she nor Tommy touched anything in the kitchen while she and their older brother went downstairs to the laundry room. She gave Dougie time to pull his coat on and steered him outside.
“What’s this?” she asked when she saw two bags on the landing. Both were imprinted with the name of Spezio’s Market, which was located outside Evergreen Corners.
“Looks like groceries.” Dougie peered into one bag. “Yep, there are two cans of chili in this one along with other stuff.” He gave a cheer. “Refried beans! We can have tacos tonight!” He paused and asked, “Do you know how to make tacos without burning them?”
Instead of answering, she asked, “Is there a note or a receipt?”
He pawed through the bags. “Nope. Nothing.”
Beth Ann scanned the narrow sections of sidewalk and green she could see. This wasn’t the first time groceries had appeared at the top of the stairs. When she’d queried those she thought might be arranging for the delivery—Pastor Hershey, the mayor, Abby, Robert—each of them had been as surprised as she was by the unknown benefactor’s generosity.
Who was sending groceries to the apartment?
“Thank you,” she said so her words would reach the street.
“You are so weird.” Douglas opened the door and put the bags inside.
“You’re just figuring that out?” She laughed as she went down the stairs.
“So why do you have a phone?”
“Because families having babies needed to be able to get in touch with me.”