Plain City Bridesmaids

by Dianne Christner

  But Lil was giving Katy tips on pasta sauce. And Elizabeth was chasing the baby, who’d gotten bold enough to finally venture after the older children.

  Megan took a forkful of pie, willing herself to taste it. Took a second bite and soon found herself scraping another empty plate. Lori was right. A waste of good food. The image of Lori’s slender finger dipping into the blueberries made her set her plate on the grass beside her. She shouldn’t resent Lori’s quick reaction, coming to her rescue. But everything about the librarian irked her lately.

  Behind her, she heard rustling and the general din of men, clad and divided by white and blue shirts, doing their manly maneuvers to prepare for the game.

  “Let’s move the blankets closer to the game,” Lil suggested.

  With Megan’s dad and Fletch on the same team with Micah, she was able to cheer for the white team without embarrassment. By the second inning, her dad had struck out twice, but Fletch was usually able to get on base. In the fifth, Micah lost a ball in the outfield and scored a home run. The game lagged in time out as several men combed the field of grass and wildflower to recover the ball. The fuss Micah received was more than Megan could bear. She jumped up. “Want some lemonade, Mom?”

  “Sure. Thanks, honey.”

  Megan strode purposefully toward the house to fetch it. The man was good at everything. Sure, there’d be complaints and lots of change, but he’d overcome. She, on the other hand, might not. She placed her cup beneath the crock’s spigot.

  “Too much excitement for you?”

  Megan flinched and pivoted. “Just parched. And you?”

  “Actually, I’m good.” Lori smiled at Megan.

  “How nice.”

  “But I might as well get some iced tea while I’m here.” Lori filled her cup, swirled it, then gazed at her with sympathy. “I don’t need a man to make me happy.”

  Megan narrowed her eyes and set her cup on the table. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Don’t be blind, Megan. Micah’s all yours. But respect God’s timing. Micah has more important things on his mind these days.”

  Even though Lori was her senior, the unbidden advice hit Megan as condescending. “Oh, yeah? You two seem chummy.”

  “Really?” Lori’s mouth twisted in disgusted sarcasm. “That’s just the sort of rumor that could ruin Micah.”

  “No kidding.”

  Lori’s anger vanished as quickly as it had been stirred. “It’s true we share a friendship, but there’s nothing romantic going on between us. If it appears that way, then I’ll be more careful.”

  Megan blinked back unwanted tears. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. You’ve done nothing wrong. I don’t want to hurt Micah.”

  The librarian’s touch gentled Megan further. “Really, my life is complete without a husband. I’m not desperate for a man.” Lori lifted her chin. “I’ve had offers.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way.”

  Lori’s hand fell away wistfully. “If I married, I’d have to give up the things I enjoy. My freedom. My books. I’m one of those people the apostle Paul talked about. Sometimes the single life is best.”

  Megan bit her bottom lip, taking in the other woman’s sincerity. “Thanks for sharing that. Maybe I should consider a single life.”

  Lori smiled. “Or maybe you should be more patient toward the right man. Micah’s been preaching on patience, hasn’t he? I hope he gets the position. We need young thinking. I’m using all my resources to help him.”

  Lori had always been progressive in her thinking. Some of her family had moved to churches like the one Lil attended. Her candid honesty warranted Megan’s respect. She was ashamed over her jealousy. “There is no remedy for love than to love more.” “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  “Looks like the game’s starting again.”

  Lori’s perfume lingered after she’d left. With a sigh, Megan filled her cups and trudged back to the sidelines.

  “I thought you’d gotten lost,” Mom chided.

  Shifting the attention away from herself, Megan pointed. “Look, Dad’s up next.”

  When her mom turned her interest back to the game, Megan quietly pondered the unusual conversation with Lori, wondering if in time Micah could forgive her for chasing after Chance. Could he let go and allow himself to fall in love with her? But then Lori didn’t know about all that. Or did she?

  “Look!” Mom pointed upward.

  Almost instantly, the sky cast a dark shadow over them. Even the ball players fidgeted as the stormy wind caught several loose lawn chairs. Inez jumped, grabbed her skirt, and ran toward the tables.

  Micah raised his hand. “We better quit now. The women could use our help.”

  “But it’s mid-inning. It’s not fair!”

  Some of the men ran in from the field and huddled around Micah. Megan saw some gesturing and a glove slammed down to the ground. Although she couldn’t hear the hot debate, she saw Micah plant his feet and shake his head in that obstinate way of his. Soon after that, the players formed a line and shook hands.

  Fletch walked over to Lil. “They’re calling it a tie.”

  “But the white team’s a run ahead,” Lil argued.

  “Yeah, but it’s mid-inning. It’s only fair.”

  Megan hoped that was the general consent, but she didn’t wait to find out. She went to help with the food. The wind whipped the tablecloths at every unsecured edge. Megan spit hair from the corner of her mouth and tried to tuck it behind her ear and secure her covering, but the effort seemed useless. Inez rushed bundled tablecloths to the house, and Megan went to help Katy and Jake get the baby and all their belongings to the car.

  She was amazed at how quickly everything cleaned up and everybody dispersed. Hastening her gait to a near jog, she started toward her own car, giving a few final waves. She’d parked on the far side of the lane, and before she’d made it the barn, the real downpour began. It drenched her and made it hard to see more than a few feet ahead.

  “Megan!”

  CHAPTER 33

  Micah lunged for Megan’s hand and drew her into the shelter beneath the barn’s overhang. “It’s dry here.”

  “Whew! I guess I was too slow.”

  “I saw you helping back there.” He leaned his back against the rough barn wall. “Let’s just wait it out a little. Maybe it’ll let up in a minute.”

  With a shiver, she backed up against the damp wall next to him. Overhead, water dumped on the barn roof and ran off the eaves. Her hand fluttered around her face, tucked a wet strand behind her ear. “I’m already soaked.”

  “I know. But you might get run over out there.” Thunder rumbled above the roar of water. “Or hit by lightning.”

  “I can’t even see the driveway.”

  All he could see was the woman next to him. Dripping as if she’d just taken a swim, Megan was totally fetching. She silently watched the rain, her damp bodice still heaving from the run. Sudden blasts of pinpricks occasionally peppered them, but mostly they were sheltered. In fact, too secluded for his raging testosterone. Water cascaded off the roof, creating a wall between them and the elements, a paradise for the two of them—Tarzan and Jane and their own private waterfall. He tried to focus on something other than Megan and his junior-high novel reading list, turning to the obvious. “Looks like Leon needs to fix his rain spouting.”

  She grinned. “You offering?”

  “I should. He’s on the search committee.”

  Her smile widened, revealing fine even teeth. “Is there anything you can’t do? Or won’t do?”

  “Yes. There is.”

  She lowered her gaze as if reading his mind. Lori had warned him that Megan was jealous earlier. After that, he’d hardly been able to concentrate on the game. He supposed it was foolish to hope that Megan could grow to care for him as more than friends. Ever since he’d pushed her away, for his own sake, he’d missed her. As their silence prevailed, rivulets of water transformed the ground
around their feet.

  “You’re a home-run hitter,” she said softly. “Next thing to a hero.”

  “Hardly. Most of the men don’t like the way I handled things. And I even dented Professor Maust’s car. I’m thankful it wasn’t your dad’s.”

  “You did? I must have missed that when I went to get lemonade. Wasn’t he the one who gave the search committee your name?”

  “Yeah. So I wonder what he needs fixing around his house?”

  Megan laughed softly, tucked her hair behind her ear again. “I don’t think it’s going to let up, Micah. Maybe we should make a run for it.”

  “Not yet.” He reached for her hand. “I’ve missed you.”

  She gave a soft gasp. “Remember what you said? About playing with fire?”

  His own words boomeranged, hitting him as sharply as they must have struck her, earlier. He regretted them, but they reminded him of his good intentions. He dropped her hand, and his voice came out harsher than he intended. “You’re right. Give me your keys. I’ll bring your car around for you.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’m already soaked.”

  He reached out and touched her shoulder. “Please, Meg. I want to.”

  She nodded and silently riffled through her purse. Keeping her lips grim, she thrust them at him. “Here.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “Brother Zimmerman? Would you get my car, too, while you’re at it?”

  Micah froze. Watched in horror as Susanna inched her body carefully around the corner of the barn then blinked her eyelashes at him. Her unwelcome appearance brought him back to that day in the church with Joy Ann Beitzel. And it was obvious by the cunning look in the widow’s gaze that she’d heard every word that had just transpired between him and Megan.

  Megan watched Micah turn pale and angry, but he left them without uttering a word. The moment he was gone, Susanna looked down her dripping beak. “Cozy under here, isn’t it?”

  Feeling like a rodent stalked by a capable hunter, Megan squirmed under Susanna’s brown gaze that held the same fiery highlights as her hair. “It’s not what it sounds like.”

  “Sounds like a lot of first names flying around.” The thin lips pressed together in accusation.

  “We knew each other at Rosedale College. It’s hard to break old habits. We’re just friends.” Megan inwardly cringed at the partial lie. “As you probably heard us talking, Brother Zimmerman pointed out to me a few weeks ago that even though we’re friends, we need to be careful around the house not to tarnish his … our reputations.” Megan bit her lip, regretfully setting up some imagery for the widow’s sharp mind.

  “Or his chance for the position he’s after? I didn’t just fall out of the nest, young lady. I was married. I know exactly what playing with fire involves.”

  The rapturous widow circled, fearsome with her extended claws. Megan squeezed her eyes closed, trying to think of something that would keep her from shredding Micah to pieces. “But you didn’t hear our earlier conversation. Brother Zimmerman merely pointed out to me that because I was naive, I was too trusting of men. That even though I could trust him, I shouldn’t. That I needed to show more discretion.”

  “Such as not kissing under the barn eaves?”

  Megan gasped. “Kissing? Susanna. We never!”

  “Then why is your hair all messed up?”

  “Because it rained. And yours is messed up, too!” Only the widow’s ruffled appearance made her all the more frightful. Megan heard the approach of her Nova’s rumble.

  “At least he had the sense to bring your car around first.”

  Megan bit her tongue. She’d already fueled the woman’s cruel imagination and ruffled her feathers. She would’ve been better off to just keep quiet like Micah. “I’m sorry if I was rude, just now. I don’t want to cause any trouble for Brother Zimmerman.”

  “That’s obvious, dear. You had to remind him not to play with fire?” She patted Megan’s arm. “I commend you for that. He needs to be stopped before he ruins someone else. First poor Joy Ann Beitzel. And now you. Who will be next?”

  Micah suddenly appeared, and Megan clamped her mouth closed. Looking distraught in his wet clothes and with water streaming off his hair and down his face, he urged, “Hurry.”

  “Thanks.” Megan gave him an apologetic look then made a dash to her car. She slammed the door, all thoughts of the weather gone. Her windshield wipers were already swishing, so she put the car into DRIVE and prayed for Micah and what he had yet to endure.

  His career at risk from Susanna’s barbed threats, Micah changed into dry clothing and grabbed his umbrella. The downpour continued as he sprinted across the Weavers’ yard to the main house. When he stepped into the kitchen’s warmth, Anita turned in surprise.

  “Micah! Come in. I just put on a pot of coffee.”

  Closing the umbrella and propping it against the door, he went to join Bill at the table.

  “Too bad about the rain. We woulda beat them,” Bill said. “But I suppose the tie warded off bad feelings. Probably the best thing, in the end.”

  Although the men’s competitive fervor was an earlier concern, now Micah’s worries had shifted. “Yeah, you’re right about that. Is Megan here?”

  Bill’s voice filled with suspicion. “Yeah. She’s upstairs changing. Why?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Anita brought both men steaming mugs of coffee. “That’s the same thing Megan just said.”

  “Does this involve her?” Bill probed, his expression starting to resemble the thunderclouds.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, what happened?”

  “It’s probably best to wait for her to join us.”

  Bill glanced at his wife. “Why don’t you go check on her.”

  Mrs. Weaver wiped her hands on a striped linen dish towel and scurried from the room.

  Meanwhile, Micah didn’t feel like making idle conversation so he took some fortifying sips of the dark, strong brew. After weeks of sitting as a guest at their table, one of the refrigerator magnets that Anita collected from her garage sales had driven home its message taken from Walt Whitman: “Either define the moment, or the moment will define you.” Regardless, when Anita quickly returned with Megan, he hardly knew where to begin. “There’s been an incident.”

  Bill shot a gaze at Megan, whose wet hair had been slickly brushed back into semblance.

  “Back at the picnic during the confusion of the storm, I found shelter under the barn’s overhang. I’d only been there a few moments when I saw Megan running for her car. I called out for her to wait it out with me.”

  “I could hardly see the road in front of me,” Megan interjected, fiddling with the sleeve of a soft gray sweater. “It was lightning, too.”

  Anita plopped another cup of coffee on the table and pushed it toward her daughter.

  Micah continued. “We were only under there for a few minutes. We didn’t know it at the time, but Susanna Schlagel was also taking refuge there, just around the corner of the barn. We found out later that she overheard our entire conversation.”

  Bill’s hand moved away from his cup and swiped through his wet hair. “What exactly did she overhear?”

  Micah met Megan’s gaze. “I think we need to tell them everything.”

  Her voice held resignation. “I was going to anyway.”

  Bill’s jaw clenched. If there was a refrigerator magnet to describe the emotions on Bill’s face, it would have read. “Nobody messes with my daughter.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Anita’s hand went out to stay her husband. “Now, Bill. Micah’s trying to explain. I’m sure it’s not what you’re thinking.”

  He shrugged away from her touch. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

  She tilted one eyebrow reproachfully. “After all these years? Believe me, I know what you’re thinking.”

  “Please,” Megan interrupted. “It’s not.”

  “What is
it then?” Bill’s eyes snapped angrily.

  “When I first came to Plain City, Megan was one of the few people I knew. We quickly became friends. Remember how she saved my life with her EpiPen? Sometimes I need someone to talk to, and we hang out.”

  “Hang out?” Bill’s voice was harshly judgmental.

  “We talk on the porch swing.”

  “Micah is always full of good advice,” Megan explained. “I talk to him about work.”

  Bill’s nostrils flared. “Sneaking around right under our noses, taking advantage of our hospitality.”

  “We did give Micah the run of the house,” Anita reminded.

  Bill shot his wife a withering look.

  “But a few weeks ago, I was convicted about it. I warned Megan not to be so trusting around men.” Micah sighed and plunged into what might be his defining moment. “I told her our behavior was ultimately playing with fire. So we quit meeting like that.”

  “That’s why you don’t come in to supper anymore?” Anita shifted her gaze from Micah to Megan. “And why you’ve been moping?”

  “Mother! You know I’ve just been extra busy at work.”

  “So what exactly did Susanna hear?” Bill’s voice was somewhat calmer but filled with dread.

  Micah exchanged a glance with Megan, and she gave an encouraging shrug. “Like I said, we were just there at the barn a few minutes. Megan wanted to make a run for it, but I asked her to wait. Told her I’d missed her. She reminded me of my own words, how we shouldn’t be playing with fire. I knew she was right. So I offered to go get her car for her.”

  Megan jumped into the story. “Then Susanna came around the corner of the barn and asked Micah to get her car, too. We knew she’d heard everything. When Micah went after my car, Susanna accused us of kissing.” Her face reddened. “Which we didn’t, of course. I probably said all the wrong things to her, but she’s coercive. The last thing she said was that she didn’t blame me. That it was Micah’s fault, and she hoped he didn’t ruin any other girls. I’m sorry, Micah.”