Plain City Bridesmaids

by Dianne Christner

  When Lil brought up driving, it touched a chord with Katy. She did get nervous when she drove alone in the dark.

  After they got back to the doddy house, Lil gave her a demonstration of how a cell phone worked, and Katy finally relented to the idea. After that, Lil circled two job ads that she meant to check out the following week.

  “You think once you get married things get easier?” Katy asked.

  “Nope. Then you get kids. That’s when your trouble really starts.” Lil moved to the floor to begin her regimented sit-ups, and Katy knew the conversation was over.

  She opened the jar that contained her latest concoction and rubbed the greasy cream on her hands. After that, she slipped into her night gloves and jotted notes in her journal. She had an entire section devoted to her hand-cream experiments.

  Since her journal had become a handy tool for housekeeping, she decided to add a spiritual section. Nibbling on her pen, she came up with a practical heading: The Prayer Covering. Below it, she copied the scripture Brother Troyer had given them to study.

  CHAPTER 24

  The telephone store might not have been so intimidating if it hadn’t been located inside the indoor mall, which screamed to Katy lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life—all phrases from a Bible verse. Lil told her she was lucky it wasn’t the weekend for that’s when it became a breeding ground for weirdness. Katy didn’t even want to know what that meant.

  Young moms in tight-belted jeans and high-heeled boots pushed strollers and shushed babies without dropping their gaze from the window displays that carried the latest fashions. Some hurried by as if they were participating in a shopping marathon in which they wouldn’t hesitate to run over stragglers. Others stared at her and Lil, their gazes sweeping over them from their oxfords to their coverings, but Katy kept her shoulders ramrod straight. She had as much right as anyone to spend her money. To own a cell phone without being frivolous or self-centered. Or so Lil maintained.

  A sudden face darted in front of her. “Ma’am, try this ring cleaner?” Katy halted and stared at the teenager, who blushed when he discovered that she wasn’t wearing any jewelry.

  “No thank you.” Katy sidestepped, bumping into Lil.

  “Over there.” Lil pointed.

  Katy glanced at the store’s sign. When they stepped inside the phone store, Katy felt more out of place than a guy at a quilting.

  “I already looked the phones over and can point you to a couple of good deals,” Lil advised. She pointed out various features of the display phones that rested on tiny glass shelves throughout the store. Next a sales representative explained the terms and told Katy about rebates. After Katy chose a phone, she followed him—careful not to stare at his low-slung pants—to the cash register and got out her checkbook. She wrote the check out for the amount he had indicated and pushed it toward him.

  “Um, if you write a check, I need to see a debit card.”

  Katy glanced at Lil, then back at the young man behind the counter. “I don’t have any cards.” A card had come with her checking account, but she had filed it away, refusing to use it.

  “Sorry.” He glanced up at her covering. “I can’t take this then.”

  She returned the wasted check to her checkbook and dropped it inside her purse, pulling out her billfold instead. “I’ll pay cash then.”

  The young man seemed surprised and patient as Katy worked to get him the correct amount. He programmed the phone and handed it back to her. Her pulse quickened unexpectedly as she stared at the shiny rectangle in her palm. Beside her, Lil snatched Katy’s shopping bag off the counter and nudged her toward the door.

  “Thanks,” Katy tossed over her shoulder. The clerk smiled.

  “Let’s celebrate. I’ll buy lunch,” Lil urged.

  After everything happened so quickly, Katy did need to catch her breath, so she agreed to dine at a Mexican restaurant. Over the chips and salsa, Lil entered some of her phone numbers into Katy’s phone and demonstrated its unique features.

  “Thanks for going with me. It was pretty intimidating. How did you ever have the nerve to go by yourself?”

  “I didn’t. Jake went with me. Here, let me show you about texting.”

  “No thanks. I only bought this for practical purposes.”

  “That’s why you need to learn how to text. Watch, I’ll text Jake and tell him your new number.”

  “No. Wait. I’m not ready for that yet.”

  “What good’s a phone if you don’t use it?”

  “Oh fine,” Katy relented.

  Moments later she got a reply from Jake. CAN U COME TO DINNR FRI NITE TO C HOW GRAM DOES?

  Lil showed her how to reply: YES.

  I’LL CALL W D TAILS.

  Amazed, Katy wondered how she could have feared something so convenient and practical.

  Jake’s familial home was a typical Plain City farm. It consisted of a two-story house, barn, silo, and more than forty acres of flat, tilled cornfields. Large ash and buckeyes shaded the house, and Katy recalled her first kiss happened under the huge weeping willow by the circle drive. She had been sixteen years old. Trying not to think about it, she stepped up onto the front porch that cooled the Bylers’ guests in the summer and sheltered them in winter.

  As soon as she touched the bell, Jake opened the door. His hair was still damp from the shower, and his face clean-shaven. For a moment he just grinned at her, looking rakish with his one black eye.

  She flashed him a timid smile. “This feels strange.”

  “Not to me. You belong here.” He took her hand and drew her inside. “With me.”

  She wet her lips, choosing to ignore his remark. “Where is everybody?”

  “In the kitchen. Come on.”

  Ann Byler’s kitchen reflected her cheery disposition. She celebrated sunshine, welcoming it through rows of windows dressed in perky yellow valances. The window and ledge above the sink displayed a collection of stained-glass sun catchers. An antique cupboard held a sun chime. Its soft jingle had always intrigued Katy. In the summer, Ann grew sunflowers in her garden, and in the winter, silk ones decorated the table.

  Rocking in a corner stream of late-afternoon light, Jake’s grandmother bowed her head over a lap-sized hoop. She didn’t look up when Katy moved closer to observe her project, watching the old hands work a needle up and down through taut material. To her pleasant surprise, the stitching was small and even. The old woman’s hands were steady, and the tips of her fingers that weren’t covered with thimbles were dry and cracked from the continuous push of the needle. Sympathy curled inside Katy’s heart. She would bring Minnie some of her healing hand ointment.

  “Mom loves to quilt pillow shams,” Ann said, then returned to her stove.

  “I sell them for her on eBay.” Jake winked and moved to give Minnie a side hug. When he saw Katy’s confusion, he explained, “An Internet store. On the computer.”

  Katy touched Minnie’s arm. “That’s very good stitching.”

  The older woman looked up then focused on Jake. “Who have you brought home, Jacob?”

  “This is Katy Yoder.”

  “Oh. I taught her in Sunday school, you know. Such a lovely girl.”

  Katy beamed that Minnie remembered her, but sadly Minnie thought Jake was his grandfather, his namesake. “I loved your stories about David and Goliath. The way you marched around the room with a pretend slingshot.”

  Minnie giggled then covered her mouth, whispering between her fingers. “I should have been a movie actress.”

  Shocked, Katy replied, “I’m glad you were a Sunday school teacher instead.”

  “Dinner’s ready,” Ann called.

  “Are you hungry, Gram?” Jake asked.

  “No, I need to finish this while there’s still light.”

  “We’re having meat loaf.”

  “Well that does sound good. Maybe I will.” He helped her stand, and then she walked to the kitchen table, confused.

  “In the dini
ng room. Since Katy’s visiting.”

  “Who’s Katy?”

  Katy’s heart sank.

  Giving Katy a sympathetic look, Jake guided Grandma Minnie by the elbow to her place in the dining room. “What a pretty table.” She stopped mid-step and smiled at Ann. “You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”

  Jake whispered to Katy, “Most of the time she thinks Mom is her sister, and I’m Grandpa.”

  “You always looked like him,” Katy whispered.

  Once Minnie was seated, Ann smiled at Katy. “I’m so glad you came tonight. I’ve missed you.”

  Katy had always appreciated Ann’s gentle manner. Rumor was she didn’t have any backbone, and that’s why she allowed her only daughter to traipse off to OSU and why Jake went wild. With his dad gone, there was simply no discipline. Katy tried to rein her thoughts back to the conversation. Ann was asking polite questions, inquiring about Katy’s work and skirting around Grandma Minnie’s periodic interruptions with a practiced skill that was both sad and heartwarming. Sipping water from a sunflower-patterned glass, Katy listened to Ann’s summer plans for a fruit and vegetable stand, and cast smiling eyes Jake’s way, pleased with him for returning home to help his family.

  Before she left, Katy and Ann planned for Katy to stay with Grandma Minnie one day a week. If that worked, they might extend it to two days and include some cleaning. Around eight o’clock, Jake offered to walk her to her car.

  Taking her gloved hand, he said, “How about you start the heater, and I’ll join you for a few minutes. We haven’t had any time alone.”

  Instantly, Katy remembered times they’d sat in his truck after a date and talked. Sometimes they kissed, but he’d always remained a gentleman. Would he keep his word tonight, about not kissing her until she was ready?

  Inside her car, he took her hand and leaned close. “Thanks so much for helping with Grams.”

  “We’ll get along fine. She remembered me for an instant.”

  “She loved you. Back when we were in high school, she encouraged me to date you.”

  Resisting the nostalgic pull, Katy drew her hand away, taking hold of the steering wheel. Light shone through the living room windows. Everything inside had been faintly familiar yet different. Jake’s dad was now gone, Cal was married, and Erin was away at college. Jake seemed changed, too, older and more mature. But should she trust him? It would be so easy to fall under his spell.

  Take it slow, Lil had warned, in spite of her earlier matchmaking. Did Lil know something about Jake she wasn’t sharing? Or was it just Lil’s way to hang on to the doddy house dream?

  Katy glanced over. “What really happened to your eye?”

  The corner of his mouth quirked. “I just collided with something.”

  She arched her brows. “Did you know David had a similar accident?”

  Finally he replied, his Amish-Dutch accent thicker than usual, “It’s a good thing you dumped him. He’s a real hothead.”

  “He started it then?”

  “He came to the church one night after the crew left. I tried to reason with him, but in his condition it was useless. I’m surprised he even made it home without ending up in some ditch.”

  Her pursed lips slackened. “He was drunk?”

  Jake nodded.

  “But everybody thinks he’s such a nice guy,” Katy protested.

  Jake looked hurt. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

  She considered his statement. David Miller had gotten drunk and started a fight because of her mistakes. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I know what you’re thinking. That I used him to get the doddy house. But I wanted to find out if I was over you, too. I hoped my dates with David would turn into more.”

  He touched her cheek. “Thanks for your honesty.”

  She dropped her hands in her lap and stared at him, blinking back threatening tears. Silence hovered between them, and she knew instinctively when he thought about kissing her. She saw his inward struggle, but he refrained.

  Should she ask him more about his relationship with Jessie? Would there ever be a more fitting time? Before she could trust him, she needed to know exactly what she was forgiving.

  But he spoke again first. “The doddy house has always been your dream. I want you to enjoy it. Although I made mistakes when I was out on my own, it helped me find my way. I want that for you, too. It will help us in our relationship.”

  It seemed contrived now to bring the conversation back to Jessie. Instead, Katy asked, “What if I become too independent and never marry? I like being my own boss.”

  “You still have Lil.”

  She chuckled, glad they’d lightened the tone of the conversation. “I don’t get to boss her around, but we do have some great argu—discussions.”

  His laughter rang in her ears long after the car had grown quiet. Then he said, “You have a pure heart, Katy Yoder. It draws a man.”

  But it was his heart Katy wanted to explore. She needed to know if they still meshed. “What do you think about the prayer covering?”

  He didn’t answer directly. “If we ever married, I’d give you lots of freedom to be yourself.”

  She considered the implications of the S word as she studied his moonlit face. He seemed serious.

  “You wouldn’t boss me around?”

  “Would you listen if I did?”

  She shrugged.

  He stared at her lips. “I’m finding it hard to behave.”

  Involuntarily, she twirled her ponytail.

  He swallowed. “I’d better go.” Once he was out, he ducked his head back inside. “I’ll call.”

  As she watched him go, she had to wonder if he offered a relationship with plenty of freedom because he wasn’t willing to settle down himself. If she pursued a relationship with him, even marriage, would there be more things to condone? Or worse things to forgive? Freedom was a frightening thing. Was his newfound faith in God enough to make him a faithful husband?

  CHAPTER 25

  Ann Byler lingered at the door, a worrisome gaze flitting over her sunny nest, and Katy sensed the other woman’s reluctance to give her elderly mother over to someone else’s care.

  “Grandma Minnie will be fine with me. Take as long as you like.” Katy knew Ann needed a break, regardless of her own niggling apprehension at spending time in Jake’s home, where even in his absence, his presence permeated every corner.

  Was she overly sensitive that everything about that man attracted and cautioned her at the same time? That everything about him screamed, Tread carefully?

  The door closed and she braced herself. She owed Grandma Minnie. In Sunday school, it was Minnie who had instilled in her to color inside the lines. And taught her faces weren’t purple, but legs were black. Minnie had guided generations, campaigning against prideful adornment whether it be a necktie or lipstick. Normally, Katy used a lip moistener with just a touch of shine, but in case Minnie was having one of her lucid days, Katy had avoided that luxury.

  No need to vex the woman in her old age. Katy couldn’t imagine the pain Minnie must have endured over the years as changes invaded their tight-knit community. It was sad, but Katy didn’t know another woman in the church who could follow in Minnie’s stead to keep the church from conforming to the world around them.

  Minnie sat on the couch, staring across the room where her gaze was transfixed on a tree outside the window. Her quilting hoop lay discarded on the cushion next to her.

  “Hello, Minnie.”

  The woman jerked her gaze away and squinted at Katy. “Are you here for firewood? That old tree isn’t dead. Only dormant, waiting for spring.” She folded her arms. “My swing’s in that tree.”

  The homestead had been Minnie’s childhood home. No wonder she was so confused now. “I’m just here to visit.”

  The deeply folded face belied the childlike spirit. “Then let’s go swing.” Minnie pushed up from the couch and started toward the kitchen with amazing agility.

&nbs
p; Scurrying after her, Katy objected. “It’s really cold outside.”

  Minnie’s chin jutted up. “But I want to swing.”

  Seeing there was no stopping the older woman, Katy went to the coat closet. “Put this on first.”

  Thankfully, Minnie shrugged into her black, Amish shawl.

  “Sit down. I’ll help you put your boots on, too.”

  Minnie sat, a wide smile on her face.

  Katy grabbed a pair of winter boots that appeared to be the appropriate size and knelt in front of Minnie. The action reminded her of foot washing service, and it humbled her and sent warm fuzzies up her back to serve the woman who had once served her. She untied the black oxfords and set them to the side, then tipped the boots. Minnie obediently poked her black-clad toes into the opening. She tilted her face to the side, studying Katy.

  “Who are you?”

  “Katy Yoder. A friend of Jake’s. All done. Let’s go.” Minnie took her hand, and they went outside. For an instant the older woman braced herself, confused and blinking at the sudden glare of sunlight. The sting of cold air nipped Katy’s face. “This way.”

  She led the five-foot-two woman around the side of the house to the old ash tree. She helped Minnie onto the swing’s board seat, which was supported by two thick ropes. “Hold tight. I’ll push you.” Minnie pumped her legs and giggled. Her blue skirt billowed out, exposing thin, black-clad knees. Minnie was always barely over one hundred pounds, and now seemed more waiflike than ever, and as Katy stepped away to watch, a melancholy lump formed in her throat.

  How many human generations would the old tree know? It was sad to see Minnie’s life end in confusion. It hurt to learn that even when you colored inside the lines, life was still not a safe place to inhabit.

  “I can touch heaven,” Minnie said, pointing her toes. “God’s smiling at me.”