The Lopsided Christmas Cake

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  “I’m surprised to see you,” she said. “Are you doing more work for us today?”

  He shook his head. “I dropped by to—”

  “Did Joseph come, too?” Thelma hoped she didn’t sound overly anxious.

  “No, I’m alone.” Delbert removed his hat. “Came by to invite you to the surprise birthday party I’m throwin’ for Joe this Friday evening. I know he’d be disappointed if you weren’t there.”

  Thelma smiled, resting her hand against her hip. “That sounds like fun. My sister and I would like to come. Is there anything we can bring?”

  Delbert rubbed his chin. “How about a salad?”

  Thelma bobbed her head. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll either make a fruit or potato salad. Or maybe we’ll bring both. Would that be okay?”

  Delbert shrugged. “Sure, that’d be fine.” He shuffled his feet a few times. “Guess I’d better be on my way. I have a few stops I need to make here in Topeka before I head back to LaGrange.”

  “What time should we be there?” Thelma asked, following him to the front of the store.

  “Six o’clock. Joe’s supposed to show up at my house at six thirty. He thinks the two of us are going out to a restaurant to eat.” Delbert put his hat back on his head. “His birthday’s Saturday, so I don’t think he’ll catch on.”

  “But won’t he see all the buggies parked in your yard when he gets to your house?”

  “I don’t think so. I’m asking everyone to park around back. Make sure you get to my place no later than six.” He opened the door and paused.

  “Okay. Elma and I will see you Friday evening then.”

  “If you see Joe between now and then, don’t let the cat outta the bag. I want him to be surprised.”

  “I won’t say a word.”

  When Delbert left, Thelma returned to the fabric aisle and stood there with a big grin. She could hardly wait to see Joseph again and planned to use the stocking cap she’d knitted him for Christmas as a birthday gift instead.

  Elma came over. “You’re wearing a huge smile. What’s going on? I saw Delbert leave. What did I miss?”

  “He came by to invite us to Joseph’s surprise birthday party on Friday night.” Thelma clasped her hands together.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I said we’d be happy to attend, and I offered to bring two salads.” Thelma tipped her head. “You do want to go, I hope, because I wouldn’t feel right about going without you.”

  Elma smiled. “Of course I’ll go. Joseph is my friend, too.”

  LaGrange

  “I wonder why they didn’t have this party tomorrow afternoon,” Elma said as she guided Pearl down the road leading to Delbert’s house. “This time of the year, it gets dark early. It’s not the safest time to be on the road with a buggy.”

  “I guess having it tonight was the only way they could surprise him,” Thelma said. “Are you anxious to see Delbert?”

  Elma clenched her teeth, ignoring her sister’s question. She knew Delbert well enough to know they had no future together. She was fairly certain he felt that way, too. One thing Elma knew was that her sister was smitten with Joseph. Maybe she will end up marrying him. That would sure make our mamm happy. It would give her and Dad the hope of becoming grandparents.

  “I don’t see any buggies,” Elma commented as she directed Pearl up Delbert’s driveway. “Could we be the first ones here?”

  “I doubt it. Delbert said he was asking everyone to park their rigs around back.” Thelma spoke with an air of excitement.

  “Guess we’d better head there, too.”

  When Thelma and Elma entered the house, Thelma saw several other people. Delbert made the introductions, and Thelma was pleased to finally meet Joseph’s parents.

  “I’m Joe’s sister, Katie,” a pretty young woman with auburn hair said, extending her hand to Elma. “You must be Thelma.”

  Elma shook her head and motioned to Thelma. “I’m Elma. She’s Thelma.”

  Katie’s cheeks darkened. “Ach, you two look so much alike. How does my brother tell you apart?”

  Thelma snickered. “He’s gotten us mixed up a couple of times, but since he knows me better now, he can usually tell by talking to me.”

  “It’s nice to meet you both.” Katie gestured to the tall man by her side. “This is my husband, Abe, and the little girl he’s holding is our two-year-old daughter, Amanda.”

  “She’s so sweet.” Thelma reached out and took the child’s hand, noting how soft it was.

  “Should we take our salads to the kitchen?” Elma asked, looking at Delbert.

  He nodded. “Jah, that’d be good. You can put them in the refrigerator.”

  Thelma followed Elma to the kitchen, where Joseph’s mother and his aunt Linda had gone. After they put their salads away, Thelma turned to Dora and asked, “Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “I found a package of sweet tea in Delbert’s cupboard,” Dora replied. “There’s a metal spoon and a pitcher on the counter.”

  Thelma opened the powdered mix and dumped it into the glass container. Then she went to the sink and filled it with water. “I want to thank you for sharing your Thanksgiving food with me and my sister. It sure tasted good when we were finally able to eat it.”

  “I’m glad you and Elma are over the flu. That can get pretty nasty.” Dora smiled as she put some cheese and crackers on a platter.

  As Thelma stirred the mixture, someone shouted from the living room that Joseph’s horse and buggy had pulled in. Hurrying to finish the job, Thelma stirred so hard that a chunk of glass broke. Sticky sweet tea spilled out all over the table and dripped onto the floor. Some also splashed on her arm. “What have I done?”

  “Let me help you.” Elma stepped forward and helped Thelma clean up the mess, while Katie threw away the glass pitcher. Then they all rushed into the living room in time to see Joseph enter. “Surprise! Happy birthday!” everyone hollered.

  Chapter 27

  Joseph was surprised to see all these people in Delbert’s house. He hardly knew what to say. He wasn’t used to being the center of attention and knew his face and ears must be as red as his hair.

  Delbert thumped Joseph’s back and grinned. “Are you surprised, my friend?”

  All Joseph could do was nod as his gaze traveled around the room. All his friends and family were there except his brother Eli, who lived in Ohio. Most importantly though, Thelma and her sister had come. He knew who Thelma was, too, for Elma had a small scar on her right elbow, which he caught sight of right away, since her arms were folded. The twins were wearing different-colored dresses as well—Thelma in dark blue and Elma in green.

  “I—I never expected this,” Joseph stammered, looking at Delbert. “I thought the two of us were going out to eat.”

  “We’re gonna eat here.” Delbert gestured to everyone. “They all want to help celebrate your gebottsdaag.”

  “But my birthday’s not till tomorrow.”

  Delbert slung his arm over Joseph’s shoulder. “I know that, Joe, but I figured you might have made plans to spend your birthday with your aldi.”

  Truth was, Joseph hadn’t made any plans for his birthday. For that matter, he’d made no mention of it to Thelma. “Well, I… uh…”

  “Sorry, friend. I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Delbert said quietly. Then he turned to the crowd and said, “Now that our guest of honor is here, why don’t we eat?”

  “That sounds good to me.” Joseph’s father led the way to the table.

  Joseph moved quickly across the room to where Thelma stood beside Katie. “I’m glad you’re here. Would you sit beside me, Thelma?”

  “I’m not Thelma,” she said with a small laugh, pointing. “She’s over there.”

  Joseph looked across the table and saw the woman he’d thought was Elma sitting beside his mother.

  “I—I saw that small scar on her arm, and I thought…”

  “What you saw was a tea stain
on my sister’s arm,” Elma explained.

  Joseph touched his hot cheeks. He felt like a dunce. On top of that, his eyes must be going bad. How could he have mistaken the sweet tea on Thelma’s arm for a scar? Making his way to the opposite side of the table, he quickly took a seat on the other side of her.

  She smiled and said, “Happy birthday, Joseph.”

  “Danki. Have you met my mamm?”

  Thelma nodded. “I met both of your parents, as well as your sister and her family, after Elma and I got here.” She smiled. “Your niece is so sweet.”

  And so are you. Joseph could only nod. He knew better than to blurt out his thoughts in front of everyone. He wasn’t even sure he could say that privately to Thelma.

  After their silent prayer, Joseph enjoyed visiting as he ate his meal. He was impressed with how well Thelma got along with his young niece. She would make such a good mother, he thought.

  When the meal was over, Joseph’s mother brought out a chocolate cake—his favorite. Then Joseph blushed even more when everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” Afterward, his sister cut the cake while Delbert got out vanilla ice cream and several kinds of toppings. Following that, Joseph received presents from some who had come to the party, as well as many birthday cards. His best gift was the stocking cap Thelma had knitted. With the weather turning colder now, he’d be able to wear it right away. Not only that, but it made him feel special, knowing she’d probably put a lot of time into making it.

  While the guests mingled in the kitchen and living room, Joseph and Thelma remained at the table. Joseph didn’t know where he got the courage, but so that no one else would see, he reached under the table and took hold of Thelma’s warm hand. Holding his breath, he slowly turned and looked into her ocean-blue eyes. He was glad when she held his gaze, gently squeezing his fingers in return.

  “Let’s play a game of Ping-Pong,” Delbert suggested. “We can play doubles. How’s that sound, Joe?”

  Joseph and Thelma jumped up, releasing each other’s hands. “That sounds like fun.” Joseph looked briefly at Thelma, noticing that her cheeks were a rosy pink. “Thelma and I can be on one side, and you and Elma on the other.”

  Delbert couldn’t believe that every time the ball came his way, Elma reached over and smacked it. The only good part of having her as his partner was that he and Elma were winning. But it would be nice if he got the opportunity to hit the ball once in a while. To make matters worse, Thelma and Joseph didn’t seem to be trying that hard to win. They spent more time talking to each other and less time paying attention to what was going on. There was no doubt about it—his friend Joe was in love.

  When the twins said it was time to leave, Joseph put on his new cap and said that he would walk Thelma to the buggy. “I think it would be nice if you walked with Elma, too,” he whispered to Delbert.

  Delbert went reluctantly. They walked across the yard, crunching their way through the fresh-fallen snow. A few days ago, the temperatures had dropped when another clipper system pushed through. Delbert slowed his pace, hoping Elma would do the same. “Can I speak with you for a few minutes?”

  “Certainly. Can we talk while I hitch my horse to the buggy?”

  “That would be fine. I’ll help you with the chore.” Delbert glanced over his shoulder and saw Joseph and Thelma disappear behind the back of the buggy. No doubt he, too, wanted to spend some time with his date alone—only for a different reason.

  As they began their task, Delbert leaned closer to Elma and said quietly, “I’ve been thinking and praying about us.”

  “Oh?” With the moon’s brightness, he could see her curious expression.

  “Whenever we’re together, there seems to be a lot of tension between us. Have you felt it, too?” He looked straight into her eyes.

  “Jah.”

  “I think we should stop seeing each other socially.”

  Elma let out a quick breath of air. “I’m actually quite relieved we are having this conversation. I agree… we can’t take this relationship any further.”

  Delbert’s shoulders relaxed. “We tried to make it work, and to be honest, toward the end, I was putting Joe’s needs ahead of my own.”

  She tipped her head and looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

  “Joe needed to gain self-confidence with Thelma. As he often did in the past, Joe leaned on me for support.”

  “Were you only going out with me to please Joseph?”

  “Not in the beginning, but as time went on and I realized that you and I aren’t suited, I continued to double-date because it was what Joe wanted.”

  “I see.” She lowered her gaze to the ground.

  He touched her arm. “I hope you’re not upset.”

  She lifted her head to look at him again. “No, I understand, because truthfully, I agreed to keep seeing you to make my sister happy.”

  “Guess that makes us even then, huh?”

  She gave a nod. “Putting others ahead of ourselves is a wonderful act of love and friendship. But at times we need to think about our own needs, too.”

  “I agree, and I’m glad we had this talk.” Delbert felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

  Feeling suddenly unsure of himself, Joseph reached out and took Thelma’s hand as they stood behind the sisters’ buggy. “I had a lot of fun tonight, and I’m glad you could be here to help celebrate my birthday.”

  “I’m glad, too. Except for splattering myself with tea, I had an enjoyable time.”

  Joseph’s heart pounded as he took a step closer. “Y–you’re a very special girl, and I–I’m in love with you.” He wished he could quiet his racing heart and speak without stumbling over his words.

  “I love you, too, Joseph.” Thelma’s voice was soft, and he stood staring at her beautiful face illuminated by the light of the moon. Then gathering his courage, Joseph drew Thelma into his arms and kissed her sweet lips. He was glad when she responded by kissing him back. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to hold her like this every night for the rest of his life. But it was too soon to speak of marriage. Or was it?

  “The horse is hitched, and we’re ready to go, Sister,” Elma called, interrupting the joy of the moment.

  “All right, I’m coming.” Thelma stared up at Joseph. “I guess it’s time for us to go.”

  “I’ll call or come by soon,” Joseph said, walking her to the passenger’s side of the buggy.

  She smiled. “I’d like that.”

  As the twins drove away, Joseph waved until they were out of sight. “Say, I have an idea,” he said as he and Delbert walked back to the house. “Why don’t we invite the twins to join us for supper tomorrow evening? Since that’s my actual birthday, it would be nice if the four of us could spend it together, don’t you think?”

  Delbert stopped walking and turned to face Joseph. “Umm… there’s something you should know.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I won’t be seeing Elma socially anymore. Before you say anything else, you need to know that it was a mutual decision. Elma and I discussed it while we were hitching her horse to the buggy.”

  Joseph was disappointed to hear this. He’d really hoped Delbert and Elma would work things out. He wondered if his friend was being too picky, looking for little things he didn’t like about Elma so he wouldn’t have to give up his freedom. What was so great about living by himself anyway? Wouldn’t Delbert be happier if he had a wife and children? Maybe not. Perhaps it wasn’t meant for Delbert to be married.

  “I feel so excited,” Thelma said as she and Elma baked a batch of ginger cookies the following evening.

  “What are you excited about?” Elma removed a cookie sheet from the oven.

  Thelma pointed to the kitchen window. “Look at all that snow out there. It’s so beautiful—just perfect for a sleigh ride.”

  Elma smiled. “Do you think we should get that old sleigh of Grandpa’s out of the barn and let Pearl take us for a ride?”

&n
bsp; Thelma drew in her lower lip. “It may be better to take Rusty, since he has more stamina than Pearl. And you know, since I’ve been working with him, he’s better behaved.”

  Elma placed the cookies on a cooling rack. “I suppose it’ll be okay to take Rusty, as long as you’re driving.”

  “I was thinking of inviting Joseph and Delbert to join us. I’m sure one of them would be willing to sit in the driver’s seat.”

  Elma frowned. “I thought it would just be the two of us.”

  “I think it would be more fun if the four of us went. Wouldn’t you enjoy a romantic sleigh ride with Delbert?”

  Elma sighed and sank into a chair at the table. “There’s something I need to tell you, Sister.”

  “What’s that?” Thelma sat, too.

  “After praying about it, I made a decision concerning Delbert.” Elma brushed a splotch of flour from her apron. “We’re not suited. I won’t be going out with him anymore.”

  Thelma’s heart gave a lurch. “Are you sure? I mean, won’t you give it a little more time?”

  Elma shook her head. “I’ve been with Delbert enough times to know that he’s not the man God has for me.”

  Thelma realized now it had been wishful thinking on her part. If Elma had prayed about this, then it must not be God’s will for her to be with Delbert. Guess I won’t be seeing Joseph anymore, either. Thelma’s throat constricted. It wouldn’t be fair to break my promise and leave Elma all alone. But, oh, I will surely miss him.

  If she lived to be one hundred, Thelma would never forget the gentle touch of his lips against hers as they’d stood at the back of the buggy. She touched Elma’s arm. “I guess the four of us won’t be going for a romantic sleigh ride, after all.”

  “You and Joseph can still go. It can be a romantic evening for the two of you.”

  Thelma pushed away from the table and stood. “I think we ought to get the rest of these kichlin baked.” Anything to keep from thinking about Joseph.

  Chapter 28

  You have a message from Joseph,” Elma told Thelma when she came into the house the following Friday morning, after going to the phone shack.