Work was the one place that Lil forgot her family problems. Giovanni took her under his wing again. He hovered and flitted like a mama bird and left her in charge while he took a personal phone call.
When he had shouted out the order, Lil was embarrassed that he chose her over others with more seniority. That was a mere technicality. Everybody knew what to do. Giovanni wasn’t an ordinary manager. His employees did not expect him to stick to procedures. Anyway, Lil didn’t actually take charge of anything. If a problem cropped up that she could not handle, she would delegate it to somebody with more expertise. Nobody would criticize her.
Still, Giovanni’s gesture set her deepest core into a secret garbanzo dance. For five whole minutes, she took charge of the kitchen that mean old Beppe had always envied.
In the sixth and seventh minute, her happiness fizzled. Giovanni hung up the phone with a face the color of a mozzarella cheese ball.
“Is something wrong?” she whispered.
“Eh, it is my wife.” He gripped the countertop then looked up at her with wide eyes. “She’s pregnant.”
The kitchen became as quiet as if Giovanni was taking a bite from a new recipe. Lil sensed his fear, knew his emotions were at war with the news he had just received. On one hand, he was happy for his wife’s joy, and for his own. He loved children. That was evident when he made napkin airplanes for the little ones as he mingled with customers. But on the other hand, he had taken this path before. It had led to disappointment over his wife’s miscarriages and her ensuing bouts of depression.
“I will pray,” Lil replied. “God is able.”
“Is He?” Giovanni asked.
Lil flinched. But Giovanni whispered, “I am the reason this restaurant has been successful, no?”
“Of course you are,” she replied, wondering why he was going down that track.
He whispered, “I see myself in you.”
Lil nodded with confusion. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 25
The following Saturday, Lil stirred pasta sauce, shaking some basil into her palm and brushing it off into the contents of a cast-iron pot. “I hate using dried herbs. I want to start an herb garden in the windowsill.” She stared dreamily out the window, “And a bird feeder would be nice, too.”
“Those are great ideas.” Megan pushed aside the study material for a children’s Sunday school class she taught. “I don’t know if I can stand the aroma if this simmers all afternoon. I’m going to get fat living with you. How do you keep such a tiny waist?”
Lil stared at her naive friend. She’d always been envious of Megan’s thin figure and beauty. “You do realize I skipped dinner last night and did one hundred sit-ups before bed?”
Megan rose and stretched. “Yes, but I’ve always told you that you shouldn’t skip meals like that.”
“It doesn’t hurt to skip meals as long as you eat healthy.”
“Maybe you’re right. We sent food boxes to Mexico last week. I’m sure the recipients of those boxes didn’t stand around having this discussion. We are so fortunate.”
Lil bit back a smile. Living with Megan was almost like living with Katy. Only the sermons Megan gave took a different spin. While Katy hoped to narrow Lil’s perspective, Megan tried to widen her worldview. Megan was all about saving the world.
But her friends’ personalities differed so that Lil needed to take care that she didn’t prick Megan’s tender heart. Katy made a competent sparring partner with her black smoldering eyes and sulky lips, but Megan delighted in dismantling arguments. So Lil didn’t dispute with Megan if she could avoid it. Instead, she used her mom’s trick of changing the topic. “Your job is perfect for you. Have you met any cute guys?”
“Actually, my boss is probably the handsomest man I’ve ever met.” Megan clamped her hand across her mouth, and her blue eyes widened in horror. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
Lil slapped her wooden spoon on the counter, forgetting all about her sauce. “What? Why haven’t I heard about him before?”
Megan’s eyes grew softly regretful. “Because. I think he’s divorced. You know that makes him off limits.” Her gaze fell to the braided oval rug Lil’s grandma had made. She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t even know why I mentioned him.”
“Oh no.” Lil knew that if Megan made that comment about her boss, she had already fallen for him. The elders in the church would never honor a second marriage.
Megan glanced up again and tried to explain, “When I started working there, he was wearing a wedding ring. Now he isn’t. He hasn’t told me what happened, but I’ve heard rumors that his wife left him.”
Lil’s hands went to her apron’s waistband. “So he’s not pursuing you?”
“No! Of course not!”
“But you’re attracted?”
Megan shook her head. “No.”
“But you said …”
“Okay, I noticed him. He’s a nice man. I feel sorry for him.”
Lil’s hands left her hips and rose to the air making a helpless gesture. “His wife must have had a reason for leaving him.”
“It might not be his fault,” Megan defended. Then she said, “If I’m attracted, I’ll get over it. I have to. I don’t want to leave Char Air because of some silly crush. How childish would that be? I love this job. I’m really careful around him so that he doesn’t see my admiration.”
This news unsettled Lil. Megan, the butterfly, had never lit—romantically speaking. She’d never fallen in love. Why did this have to happen just when Megan had found her niche? Why couldn’t she have fallen for some clean-cut Rosedale College student? “Be careful, green bean. Love is a sneaky thing.”
Megan slowly nodded, then ran long fingers through her fine hair, pushing it behind her shoulder. “You’re talking about Fletch?”
“Yes. Yesterday I stopped in to see my mom, and Matt pulled me in the barn to lecture me about causing problems between Mom and Dad.” She placed a lid on the slightly simmering pot and stepped away. “He said I was going to ruin the family. Naturally, we ended up in a disagreement about Fletch.” Turning her back to Megan, she went to the big, farm-style sink to scrub some utensils. Blinking, she whispered, “I hate what’s become of our family. Matt and I used to be close.”
“I’m sorry. Here, let me do that.” Megan nudged Lil aside just as she was squeezing liquid detergent, and a billow of tiny bubbles rose above them.
“Oops.” Megan waved her hand through the airborne bubbles and stared aghast into the bubbly sink. “That’s wasting resources.”
“It’s just one squirt of detergent.”
“Lil,” Megan said with a soft but reprimanding tone. “My mom says that if everyone wasted a squirt, it would soon become an ocean.”
Fletch watched Vic’s scalpel move with expertise as he performed a necropsy. Animal autopsies were invaluable to Fletch’s hands-on education, and he found the internal workings of the horse fascinating. But when his phone rang, the caller’s identity was equally amazing.
“Vic, can I take this call? It’s from my dad in Africa.”
“Sure. Go on.”
Fletch snapped his phone open and stuck it in the crook of his neck so he could wash his hands in the clinic basin. “Dad. It’s good to hear your voice.”
“Yours, too. It’s been a long time.”
“How’s Mom?”
“She’s great. She’s out purchasing some medical supplies. I got your e-mail. I was sorry to hear about Marshall. He’s been a friend to us over the years. A generous man.”
“Yes.” Fletch moved out of doors. “The news is hard.”
“I know. So is your predicament. Do you want to talk about it?”
Fletch sat on the ground, and Buddy rubbed against his hand. He touched the dog absentmindedly, telling his dad about Marshall’s request and how it had affected the Landis family and his position as Vic’s assistant. “So the camera is untouched, but I have to do something.”
“Yes, you do. I
f we aren’t moving forward, we are losing ground.”
His dad always peppered his conversation with frustrating maxims. Fletch pressed, “What would you do?”
“Without hindsight, I probably would be standing in your shoes about now. Tell me who deserves your loyalty.”
“I knew Marshall first.”
“If he’s the one you serve, you shouldn’t be feeling regret.”
Fletch caught his dad’s meaning. “You know I serve the Lord first.”
“Exactly.”
“So you’re not going to tell me what to do?”
“You prayed about it?”
Fletch yanked a clump of grass from the lawn, and Buddy moved away. “Of course.”
“Then trust God and follow your heart. The circumstance won’t heal itself or go away on its own.”
He let the grass filter through his fingers. “And you won’t be upset if Marshall withdraws his support from your ministry, too?”
“I appreciate all Marshall’s done for us, but the Lord is our provider. Anyway, we might not be needing his support. I was calling to tell you that we decided it’s time to come home.”
With surprise, Fletch sputtered, “You mean … the States? A furlough?”
“We think it will be for good this time.”
Fletch felt his adrenaline spike from the shocking news. He worked to keep his voice calm. “Well, Ohio is a nice place.” He couldn’t imagine having Dad back in his life—didn’t need more disappointments along that line.
“Your mother and I were hoping for an invitation. You’ll be there another year or so, right?”
“As far as I know, but once I destroy that video, anything could happen.”
“That’s what makes life such an adventure!” Even though his dad’s voice came from across a continent and an entire ocean, it contained the power that swallowed lesser men. If he had not lost his fervor, Fletch wondered what was motivating Dad to leave the mission field. “We’re looking forward to seeing you. Maybe we can get your sister to come to Ohio for a visit, too.”
“I haven’t seen her since she got married.” The line got quiet. “When will you come?”
“Nothing’s definite yet. I’ll e-mail you when we know more.”
Aha. There was the catch. As usual, Fletch didn’t have to wait long for Dad to dash his hopes. As far as he knew, the move to Ohio was all bluster. He took off his cap, ruffled his hair. “Sure. That will be fine. Thanks for the advice.”
Dad chuckled. “You already knew what to do.”
Fletch felt resentful that Dad found the situation amusing.
“Give Mom my love.”
The call was bittersweet, but it helped Fletch move ahead and delete the footage. That night as he pushed levers on the small video camera, he explained to Buddy, “A touch of the button and it’s gone. But the consequences, not so easily.”
Buddy raised his flabby jowls and howled.
“Well let’s hope it’s not that bad.” Fletch placed the camera on top of the refrigerator, where it would remain until he returned it to Marcus. His friend had returned to Plain City, but Fletch hadn’t gotten a chance to ask about his trip yet, and now more than ever dreaded their next encounter.
CHAPTER 26
Fletch drove around a curve just before the farm shelter came into sight and noticed one of the shelter’s horses trotting down the center of the road. What on earth? He pulled the car over onto the embankment and hopped out. He tried to get the horse to come to him, but it was jittery. Without a halter, it was useless. Fletch hopped back in his car and swept his phone from his pocket. “Marcus! Come quick! One of your horses is out.”
Fletch pulled into the farm and met Marcus, and they both ran for the barn. But ten yards from the door, they halted. The door wasn’t left open like Fletch expected. It was demolished. Shredded and mutilated.
“Vandals!” Marcus cried bitterly.
Fletch ran into the vacated barn and located the halter and lead and jumped back in his car while Marcus stayed behind to round up the other straying animals.
It was hours before they had all the livestock located and secured again. The horse, Taffy, had reinjured his bad leg, and Fletch couldn’t be sure if the recovery would be as swift or as complete as it might have been before the incident.
Weary and dejected, Fletch joined Marcus and Ashley in the office.
“Do you think the vandals will be back?” she asked.
“It depends if they have an issue with the shelter or if it was just a random kid’s prank,” Marcus replied with a grim countenance.
“What if they harm the animals the next time?”
“They injured Taffy. With the sprain the horse already had, frightening him added to the damage. I administered a cold press. Now he needs total rest. I’ll make sure Vic stops in to take a look at him.”
Marcus nodded. “I don’t suppose the police will do much. This is a tight-knit community. They’ll be backing the farmers, some of whom consider us the enemy.” He placed his head in his hands and muttered, “With all that’s going on with Dad, I almost wish we hadn’t started the shelter.”
“You must not say that.” Ashley rushed over and placed a hand on his taut shoulder. “We’re helping a lot of animals. You’re just overwhelmed right now.”
Fletch wondered if something worse was troubling his friend. “Did Marshall agree to take chemo?”
“He’s leaning that way.”
“Thank goodness.” Fletch was relieved about Marshall but didn’t have the heart to hand over the empty video camera now. Not when Marcus seemed so despondent.
Later that night on the way home from the shelter, Fletch swung by the doddy house in hopes of catching Lil at home. She was at the kitchen table with her recipe journal and a scattering of recipe cards. Megan lounged on the nearby couch with her pretty nose in a book.
Fletch picked up one of the recipe cards. “Gnocchi?”
Lil snapped it out of his hand. “This is top-secret stuff.”
He grinned, harboring his own secrets of the heart variation.
The doddy house was quiet without the hum of television or computer, reminding him how different Lil’s life was from his own. His apartment, though sparsely furnished, had both technologies.
“You guys always this quiet?”
“You caught her in a rare moment,” Megan called from the adjoining living room.
Lil shrugged. “You look tired.”
“A little discouraged.”
Lil swept her recipe cards aside and aligned them into a neat stack. “Sit here?”
He pulled out a chair and joined her. “My dad called.”
“That’s good, right?”
“I guess. He might be quitting his missionary work. Might be moving here.”
“Really? It would probably be good for you to spend some time together.”
“Maybe. I’m not getting my hopes up.”
She nodded, her gaze filling with concern.
“He didn’t seem troubled about the possibility of losing Marshall’s support.”
“I imagine he was sad to hear about his cancer.”
“Yes. Anyway, he didn’t give me any advice, but after talking to him, I erased the video.”
Lil jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh thank you!”
Her welcome rush of gratitude was a joyful relief, and he pulled her into his lap, holding her tight and stroking her hair. “I’m just sorry for what I did.” He touched her cheek.
“I’m still in the room over here,” Megan reminded them. “And in case you never noticed, my fair skin blushes easily.”
“Oops. Sorry.” Lil jumped up, embarrassed.
“Anyway, I went to the shelter to return the camera to Marcus. But I couldn’t do it.” He saw Lil’s expression sag, and quickly explained. “He was still upset about his dad. Besides that, someone vandalized the barn. When I got there, the animals were out. I helped him round them up. Had to treat one of the hors
es.”
Lil’s eyes widened with fear. “What about the lambs?”
“They’re fine.” He smiled. “They didn’t get very far.”
Lil gave a sigh of relief. “Do you think it was one of my brothers? They made some threats against you.”
Fletch rubbed his temples and briefly closed his eyes, hoping that was not the case. When he opened them, he saw Lil’s distress mirrored his own.
The next day, Fletch and Vic returned to the dairy farm. Vic allowed Fletch to treat a white-faced cow with a cancerous growth by the eye. The cow had already lost the other eye, but they were able to save the second eye by numbing the area and then freezing the cancerous spot with liquid nitrogen.
“The cow will recover. Even after removing the first eye a couple of years ago, its milk production increased, which is a sign of improving health,” Vic explained, returning his instruments to his satchel.
“Thanks for letting me do the surgery.”
“You’re here to learn.”
“I know. But I feel like you’re giving me a second chance. I appreciate it. And I wanted you to know I deleted that video footage.” Thinking of Marcus’s condition the last time he’d seen him, Fletch said, “I haven’t returned the camera yet, but I will as soon as the Lewises have a break from their string of bad luck.”
“The fallout I expected never happened. I guess it’s a tribute to the Landis family’s integrity that they didn’t spread a bunch of gossip about us.”
Fletch gave the cow a couple of pats then released the animal. “They’re good people.” Vic was right. After sleeping on it, Fletch was giving them the benefit of the doubt, assuming they hadn’t vandalized the shelter.
“But they still don’t want you taking care of their animals.”
“How is their herd?”
“They’re not isolating the hogs like they should. Until they do, they’ll never get the disease under control.”
Fletch frowned, wondering if Matt had taken his advice about the hoop barns.
They walked down the row of cattle, doing their routine checks. The herdsman had left them to take a customer on a farm tour, so they were able to discuss private matters.
Plain City Bridesmaids Page 55