And, just like when she was far younger and had a houseful of kinner, the room fell silent.
She grinned. It was nice to know that she could still create order out of chaos.
Her second oldest son, Sam, stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “Mamm, did you just call us children? I’m forty-seven, you know.”
She fought back a sigh. That boy never could hold his tongue. “Samuel, are you talking back to me?”
“Nee, Mamm.”
Viola started to snicker, but Lovina put her fiercest glare on her face. Just as she’d hoped, Viola’s expression turned contrite.
Now that the troublemakers had been tamed, the group stopped talking and waited for her to speak.
Pleased, she exhaled and began doing what she did best—ordering everyone around. “Elsie has been holding this household together long enough. I agree that we all need to do our part, but this is ridiculous.” Pointing to Amanda, Viola, and their cousin Beth, she said, “You girls are in charge of your parents’ room. With your mother being so sick, everything needs to be spic-and-span and fresh. After that, clean up the front room and the bathroom, too. Jah?”
“Yes, Mommi,” Beth said obediently.
Satisfied, she turned to her daughter and daughters-in law. “Lorene, Rachel, and Mary Beth, you are in charge of the kitchen. Plan three days of menus, and divide up the work. When the girls finish their cleaning, they can help you.”
She paused for breath, and for good measure, cast a hard look on them. The women might be in their forties and mothers of adults, too, but sometimes they needed to be reminded of who was in charge. “Does that sound reasonable?”
“Jah, Mamm,” Lorene said.
“Gut.” Now she turned to the men. “Peter, show the men what needs to be done outside, then go back to your wife.”
“Are you sure, Mamm? Would you rather take a turn at the hospital?”
Though the idea of sitting with Marie was tempting, she knew her company wasn’t what her daughter-in-law needed. “I’ve sat in my fair share of hospitals over the years, son. Besides, I am clearly needed here. This haus is on the verge of falling apart.”
“We haven’t been doing that bad of a job,” Lorene muttered.
“Hmmph.” Lovina folded her arms over her chest and did her best to look mighty put upon, practically daring them all to refute that.
Though she spied a couple of sardonic looks sneakily sent to each other, no one dared argue with that statement.
Until two of her boys grinned. “You haven’t lost your touch, Mamm,” Aden said around a smile.
Samuel chuckled. “You still can have me shaking in my boots.”
She almost smiled. Instead, she raised her chin a bit, then eyed them the way she used to when they’d left their wooden blocks all over the floor. “Gut,” she said crisply. Then she clapped her hands. “Well, off you all go. Time stands still for no one.”
One by one, each went to his or her designated area, until only Regina remained by her side.
“Mommi Lovina?” she said while giving her apron a good tug.
Bending down, Lovina allowed her stern expression to soften as she met her sweet adopted great-granddaughter’s face. “Yes, dear?”
“Are you mighty angry at all of us?”
Falling to one knee, she shook her head. “My goodness. I’m not angry at all. I was just pretending to be tough.”
Hope blossomed in her eyes. “Truly?”
“Jah.” Reaching out, she gave little Regina a quick hug. “I knew if I didn’t act stern they’d do something foolish and come up with their own plan. They may be old, but they’re not so old that I can’t tell them what to do.”
She giggled. “You even told my mamm what to do. And you called everyone kinner!”
“She might be your mother, but she’s a child to me. They all are.” Solemnly winking as she straightened, Lovina added, “But she listens gut, don’t she?”
Regina nodded, then giggled again as she tugged on Lovina’s apron again. “Mommi?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Can I help, too? Or am I too little?”
“You are never too little to be of use.” Holding out her hand, she said, “Come with me. Regina. I have a mighty important job in mind for you.”
Regina slipped her little hand in hers. “What?”
“I want you to come with me to the dawdi haus.”
Her eyes widened. “What’s there?”
“Dawdi Aaron and a new puzzle.”
“You want me to work on a puzzle with Dawdi?”
“Oh, yes. He can’t put it together by himself. He’s old, you know.”
Practically skipping by her side, Regina said, “I like being with Dawdi Aaron.”
“He likes being with you, too. I bet we could even make you both some hot chocolate.”
“I love hot chocolate.” Chuckling, Lovina opened the door and led the way to her little haus in the back of the bustling one. As Regina grabbed her hand, she murmured, “I love you, Mommi Lovina.”
Stopping, Lovina knelt down and gave Regina another hug. “I love you, too.” As she felt her great-granddaughter’s slim arms wrap around her neck, Lovina’s heart filled with love . . . and regret.
What she and Aaron weren’t telling anyone was that while everyone was getting busy for Marie to come home, she and Aaron were packing to leave.
As much as it pained her to be leaving her family, it had to be done.
They planned to leave on the next bus to Lancaster County, which was in two days’ time.
She knew it wasn’t the greatest timing with Marie just out of the hospital. But some things couldn’t be put off any longer. After all, they’d been ignored far too long already.
Another day, another job. After they’d overseen the staining of the Market Street house, Landon and Daniel passed the sealing on to Zip and Craig.
Now they were in an old home from the turn of the century that a fancy Englischer had purchased a few months ago. The plumbers and electricians had done their parts, and now Landon and Daniel were hired to patch walls and refinish the floors.
Although they refinished floors all the time, patching and repairing walls was a far trickier job. Especially for Landon. He had to rely on Daniel to give him step-by-step instructions, which, after ten hours of sweating and being corrected, were pushing his patience to the limit.
“Nee, Landon. You’re applying the plaster too thick,” Daniel said over his shoulder. He stopped and scowled at him. “I tell ya, I should’ve had you work with Craig and asked for Zip to work with me. At least he can follow directions. You are doing everything wrong.”
“If you gave me better directions, I could follow them easier,” Landon snapped.
“If you listened, you might be able to follow them better,” Daniel countered, not putting up with Landon’s testiness for one moment.
Landon felt his temper burn and threaten to erupt. Unfortunately, knowing his brother was right didn’t make things any easier.
He needed to get his mind back to what he was doing, and off the problems that were spinning in his head.
After counting to five, he sighed. “You’re right. I haven’t been listening like I should’ve. I’m sorry.”
Immediately, Daniel’s scowl smoothed. “What is wrong? You’ve been acting like an angry bear all morning, and for some reason, I don’t think patching and plastering walls has made you so upset.”
It wasn’t that at all. “It’s personal.”
“So?” Daniel scoffed. “Since when don’t we talk to each other about things that are personal? You’re my brother.”
Daniel was his older, wiser brother. And usually Landon would have unloaded his problems on him and asked his opinion. But right now he wasn’t so sure he wanted to hear his brother’s advice. Even more important, he didn’t want to risk creating a rift between them if he ignored what advice his brother provided.
Attempting to brush aside his worries, he shrugged. �
��Don’t worry about it. It’s just something I have to work out on my own.”
Putting down the crowbar he’d been holding, Daniel nodded. “Jah, you could probably work out this personal problem on your own. That is true. But . . . if you don’t mind me saying so? It ain’t going so well for you.”
That statement was so true, Landon couldn’t help but grin. “You may have a point.”
“I know I do. So? What’s going on? I can only imagine that it has to do with Elsie,” he said. “Only a woman can make a man feel like he’s tied up in knots.”
“It actually does concern Elsie.” He should have known that his brother would be able to read his mind.
“What’s wrong? I thought you had a nice time with her?”
With reluctance, he answered. “I did. I mean, I thought I did.”
“Why are you making it so complicated? If you had fun, you did.”
“Something happened afterward.”
“What happened? Did she decide she didn’t like you?” he joked.
“Nee. It’s, uh, something else. Something important.”
“You’re driving me crazy. What happened?”
“Her brother told me something about her that she hadn’t shared with me.”
“Well, what did he say?”
Daniel’s exasperation mirrored Landon’s own frustration with himself. “Roman said Elsie’s vision is fading. Or becoming blurry or something.”
“You’ve told me she wears glasses.”
“Yes, but it’s more than that,” Landon said. “He said in a few years she’ll be completely blind.”
All traces of levity left Daniel’s voice. “Landon, that’s terrible news.”
“I agree.” Noticing how dejected his brother looked, Landon shook his head with a sad smile. “You’re wearing almost the same expression I imagine I was wearing when Roman first told me.”
“Is he sure about this?”
Landon nodded. Now that he was sharing his load, he could breathe easier. “Elsie has thick glasses, but Roman said they don’t help as much as most people think. I guess she’s been losing her vision slowly for years and has learned to make adjustments for it. He thinks she’ll be completely blind one day soon. I feel verra bad for her.”
Daniel whistled low. “I sure am sorry, Landon.”
“This is Elsie’s disease, not my problem.” But even as he said the words, he knew that wasn’t true. He was starting to really care about her. And even if nothing became of the two of them, he certainly didn’t want Elsie to face a future like the one Roman described.
“Thank goodness Roman told you the truth about her. You know, before it was too late.”
Though he’d just been thinking that very thing, a small twinge of uneasiness crept into him. “Before it was too late?”
“Sure. I mean, before you did something stupid and really started to like her. Or worse, fell in love. Now you can start considering other women in town.”
“She’s going blind, not becoming dangerous,” he snapped.
Daniel looked at him strangely. “Why are you getting angry? I’m only supporting you. I mean, you wouldn’t want to marry a woman with so many problems, would you?”
“Daniel, I did really like her.”
“But you’re going to have to forget about her, though—right? I mean, you’re not going to see her anymore now, are you?”
He hadn’t planned to see her again. In fact, the morning after Roman’s visit, when he’d woken up, he’d been determined to stay as far away from Elsie Keim as possible.
But now, hearing his brother talk about her like this? When he hadn’t even met her? Well, it did something to his insides that he couldn’t deny.
He felt like leaping to her defense.
“I might see her again,” he said. “She really is a sweet woman. Pretty, too.” Then he added something that had been nagging him since he’d decided not to court her anymore. “To be honest, I would feel pretty horrible if I never saw her again because of something that’s not her fault.”
Daniel looked incredulous. “Landon, you can’t be serious. All you’re going to do is hurt her feelings if you lead her on. That’s almost cruel.”
“Who said anything about leading her on?”
“Landon, think about it. You can’t court a woman who can’t help you, who can’t manage a house or raise your children. You have a job where you’re away from home for hours at a time, sometimes even days!”
Everything Daniel said was true. But another part of him ached to put aside reason. Ached to be the person in Elsie’s life who didn’t define her by her blindness
And the only way to figure out if he could be that person was to go see her again.
“I’m going to stop by her house tomorrow and talk to her.”
“You’re making a mistake. Leading her on when you don’t have any intention of becoming serious is terribly mean.”
It would be mean. Heartless, even. But he was starting to suspect that, despite what his brain was trying to tell him, his heart had decided that he might already be serious about Elsie.
“Maybe I am becoming serious.”
“You hardly know her.”
“What I do know of her, I really like.”
After a long, judgmental look, Daniel picked up his crowbar. “We got a lot of work to do. We better get busy.”
“Sure. Fine.” He probably shouldn’t have even brought up Elsie’s disability or his feelings about her. But talking about it out loud made him realize a few things.
A few pretty important things about himself.
Though the tension between him and Daniel had returned, Landon knew it would eventually blow over. They were brothers first.
And even if things did stay tense for a few days, he was okay with that. In fact, for the first time in days, he felt at peace. Now, at least, Landon was making plans for a future that he could be proud of, not be ashamed of.
And that was something he could live with.
chapter thirteen
When Elsie’s daed escorted her mamm inside, the household erupted in celebration—even Goldie. Elsie found herself chuckling as Goldie bounded toward her mother with a series of happy barks.
Leaning down, her mother gently patted the dog between her ears before smiling at the family that surrounded her. Her blue eyes looked bright and her cheeks pink. To Elsie, she looked perfectly beautiful.
“I’ve never seen such a commotion about something so little,” Mamm marveled.
“You being in the hospital wasna something ‘little,’ Marie,” Lorene said. “All of us were worried about you.”
“Mighty worried,” her husband, John, added.
Still holding Daed’s elbow, Mamm’s expression softened. “Well, worry no longer. I’m home now.”
“Thank goodness,” Viola said. “And Mamm, just so you know, you aren’t allowed to get sick again. We can’t take it.”
“I’ll certainly do my best not to.” Mamm walked toward the kitchen table and oohed and ahhed over the amount of food set out. “What a feast!” Leaning forward a bit, her eyes brightened. “Is that a coconut cream pie?”
“It certainly is,” Beth said. “Amanda and I made it and whoopee pies this morning.”
“It all looks wunderbaar. My goodness, you all have been busy.” She gestured to the spotless counters, the sparkling-clean windows, the polished furniture. “The haus looks beautiful.” With a mock frown, she added, “I didn’t know you all could clean so well.”
“We had no choice,” Sam said. “Mamm might be a great-grandmother, but she hasn’t lost her touch for ordering us about.”
Elsie chuckled as her grandmother attempted to look fierce but couldn’t quite manage it.
“After a little bit of direction, you all did gut,” she said. “I’m proud of you.”
“Does that mean we can finally eat something?” Aden asked after a moment. “I’m starving.”
Like locusts, the crowd of people grabbed
paper plates and swarmed the table. There was much joshing and teasing as Elsie’s uncles vied for position in line, as if they were small boys instead of grown men.
With everyone occupied, Elsie walked to her mother’s side. “I am glad you’re back home, Mamm. We were worried about you.”
Gently hugging her, her mother said, “I’m glad to be home, too, my sweet Elsie. After all the hustle and bustle ends, you and me are going to have to catch up.”
There was only one thing that her mother could be referring to, and that was Landon. “Of course,” Elsie said awkwardly.
“Maybe we could speak later on this afternoon?”
Thankfully, her father interrupted before Elsie could reply. “Marie, let’s feed you before everyone eats all the food.” Her mother looked chagrined, but let herself be guided back to the table.
Not hungry, Elsie moved to the kitchen. It was so nice to have her mamm home, and somehow it finally made it feel right to have all the family cluttering up the house. But as she gazed out the kitchen window, a sadness claimed her chest. While she hoped that her new friendship with Landon meant that the dreams of her heart might be coming true, she couldn’t deny that her life might be far different from her mother’s, her grandmother’s, or even Viola’s. If she never married or had children, she’d never have moments like this.
She’d never have a husband to fuss over her after an illness or on a special day.
She might never have a noisy house full of children and grandchildren eager—or not so eager—to do her bidding.
She might be doomed to staying in the background. As the blind daughter. The needy aunt. The frail great-aunt who required extra help.
Nothing sounded worse.
Unable to help herself, she stewed on that bleak future while she brewed tea and coffee. When the family moved to the hearth room, surrounding her mother, Elsie still wasn’t ready to be a part of the crowd. Instead, she occupied herself with clearing the table, throwing out paper plates, and washing a few of the dishes.
Eventually, Beth, Viola, and Amanda joined her. She chatted with them a bit as they continued to wash and dry dishes. But though she enjoyed the girls’ conversation, she kept finding herself listening for her mother’s laugh. Then, she would know her mother was truly back.
The Days of Redemption Page 53