“Gideon? Two eggs or three?”
“Two. I won’t be working in the fields all day like your mann. And danki, Emma, but I don’t expect you to cook for me.”
“Don’t be silly.” She fixed two plates, set his before him then sat with hers. She glanced over at John. He hadn’t been real interested in the rice cereal he loved even after she mixed in some applesauce. She tried offering him another spoonful of it, but he closed his mouth tight and shook his head. Shrugging, she set the spoon back in the bowl and began eating her breakfast.
The door to the dawdi haus opened, and Leah walked into the kitchen carrying a plate of cinnamon rolls.
“I thought I’d share some of these.” She set them down in the center of the table, poured herself a cup of coffee, then took a seat.
Eli and Gideon reached for them at the same time and bumped hands.
“There’s plenty for everyone,” she said, rolling her eyes at Emma. “Careful, they’re hot.”
Eli tossed his roll from one hand to the other and back again to cool it off a little then took a big bite. “Mmm. Gut.”
Emma finished eating and rose to put her plate and coffee cup in the sink. She began getting her things ready for her day at Hannah’s shop.
“Are you schur I can’t watch John so you don’t have to take him to the shop today?” Leah asked her.
“Danki, but I think we’ll both enjoy going in today. We’ve enjoyed being home, but it’s time to get back to work.” She grinned when Leah gave an exaggerated sigh and looked sadly at John. “You’ll have plenty of grossmudder time when we come home,” she reminded Leah.
Emma had packed her lunch the night before and made schur John’s diaper bag had everything he’d need. She’d set them on the bench by the back door along with his stroller. A glance at the kitchen clock showed she was on schedule.
Then she glanced over and saw that Eli had leaned over to give John a spoon of the rice cereal he’d decided he didn’t want more of, and John was smearing it all over his face and shirt.
“Oh my!” she cried and grabbed a dishcloth, ran some water over it, and rushed over to clean him up.
“Oops,” said Eli. “Sorry.”
“That’s allrecht.”
He hadn’t had much experience feeding his sohn yet and didn’t know to anticipate such behavior. She stripped off John’s bib and his shirt, wiped his face, hands, and hair, and lifted him out of his chair.
“Eli, can you get a clean shirt out of his bag there on the bench?”
When she turned she saw Leah had already gotten it and held it out. “Danki.”
Gideon rose, got his lunch tote from the refrigerator, and collected the things Emma had set out on the bench. “I’ll put these out on the front porch and wait for Liz.”
“Danki.”
Eli clapped a hand on Gideon’s shoulder as he passed him. “Have a gut day at work. And try to fix things up with Hannah.”
Gideon shrugged off his hand and frowned at him. “I don’t need you nagging at me, Mamm.”
“Don’t you talk to your bruder like that, Gideon,” Leah scolded.
“Ya, Gideon.” Emma joined Leah in glaring at him. “That’s no way to talk to your bruder.”
“Sorry!”
Emma started to fuss at him then felt something wet on her arm. She looked down and saw cereal and applesauce on her dress. There must have been some on the chair when she got John out of his highchair. She handed John to Eli and rushed to the sink to clean the stuff off. But it just made things worse.
“I have to change my dress.”
“Go ahead.”
“Our ride’s here!” Gideon hollered from the front door.
Torn, Emma tossed the wet dishcloth down and shook her head. “What a morning! I can’t go in like this.”
“Go change. I’ll drive you to work. I’ll tell Gideon to go on.”
She ran upstairs, changed, and when she came down Leah was holding John.
“Eli’s hitching up the buggy.”
They walked to the front door, and when they went out onto the porch Eli was pulling the buggy around. Leah picked up Emma’s lunch tote and diaper bag while Emma slipped the strap of her purse cross-body and grabbed the stroller.
“Have a gut day,” Leah said and gave John a big kiss before settling him in his seat.
“We will, danki,” Emma said as she climbed into the buggy.
Once they were on the road Emma leaned back and let out a relieved sigh. “Not the calmest start to a day.”
He shrugged. “It’s allrecht. Gives us a chance to talk on the way. And I have a few things to do in town anyway.”
“Like what?”
“Just some errands.”
He sounded a little evasive, but when she started to question him she saw that Fannie Mae was setting up her stand in front of her farm. Emma waved then turned back to Eli.
“Get some fruit and I’ll bake you a pie tomorrow.”
“What kind of fruit?”
“Whatever looks gut. She may have some early strawberries.”
“I will.”
“Enough for two pies. I know how much your bruder loves pie.”
Eli nodded and then lapsed into silence. When several miles passed and he said nothing, just seemed to stare at the road ahead and brood, she bit her lip.
“What?” she asked finally.
“Huh?”
“Something’s bothering you. Tell me what’s wrong.”
When he checked for traffic then pulled over and turned to her she searched his face.
“Something has been bothering me,” he admitted. “Maybe we should have talked about this before.”
* * *
Eli saw Emma pale and realized he’d scared her.
“Sorry, it’s nothing bad,” he said quickly. “I just realized we haven’t talked enough about our future. You know you can stay home and not work if you want to. The farm is doing well, and there’s no need to do outside work—”
“I love working in Hannah’s shop, and John really enjoys all the people. And it’s just two days a week now, maybe three when things get busier for Christmas.”
He shrugged. “I know you said you didn’t mind that the wedding was small. But we’re not getting to do what couples in our community usually do after their marriage.”
When she giggled he shot her a look.
“Emma.” Then he laughed. “I’m not talking about that.”
“Sorry.” She pressed her lips together firmly and stopped giggling.
“Couples visit their friends on the weekends after the wedding, spend the night, collect their wedding presents.”
“Our best friends were at the wedding and they gave us the best gifts—they supported us emotionally and helped us have a wedding,” she said firmly. “Hannah gave me the material for my wedding dress and helped me sew it. Gideon helped pay for some of the wedding food and set up the benches and tables. That’s more than enough for me. Isn’t that more than enough for you?”
He gave her a thoughtful look. “I guess when you put it like that.”
Traffic was already getting heavy in town when they arrived, but he was able to pull in front of Hannah’s shop.
Emma put her hand on his arm and stopped him when he started to get out of the buggy. “It’s felt so nice being part of the familye since we got married,” she told him. “We are so lucky to be together, Eli, you and me and John.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “I know. Have a gut day and I’ll look forward to seeing you when you come home tonight.”
She grinned. “Danki for the ride, but we’ll make schur we catch one with Liz this evening.”
Eli checked for traffic before he got out of the buggy and came around to help her get John and their things inside.
But when Emma approached the shop she realized it was dark inside. She peered in the window. Hannah wasn’t in yet.
Emma rummaged in her purse and pulled out her key ring. “Hannah gave
me a key.”
She unlocked the door and they entered the shop. Emma went around turning on lights.
“Guess I’ll be going.” He backed toward the door.
“Why is it men are so uncomfortable in a quilt shop?” she asked.
“I’m not uncomfortable,” he said.
“Then stay and keep us company until Hannah gets here.”
“Fine.” He looked out the shop window. “I’m surprised we got here before them.”
“Liz has a lot of stops to make on the way here.” She frowned. “I hope nothing happened.”
Then she shook her head. “Gideon has a cell phone. He’d have called me.”
Eli wandered around. He hadn’t been in the shop since Hannah opened it. He’d come into town a couple of times to help her and Gideon when she was getting set up. Now it was filled with so much fabric and sewing goods. Quilts hung on the wall, and shelves were filled with colorful fabric, yarn, and sewing goods.
Emma put John in his crib and gave him his stuffed toys. Eli walked over and sat in the chair beside it. “He really does seem happy here.”
“He’s a happy boppli. Always has been. And he loves all the ladies who come in and fuss over him.”
She glanced at the clock. “I’m going to go start a pot of coffee and put my lunch in the refrigerator.”
He felt a moment of panic. “What if someone comes in?”
She laughed. “They can’t, silly. I locked the door. It’s not time to open yet.”
“Oh.”
Eli’s cell phone signaled a text was coming in. He was still reading it when Emma walked back to the front.
“Did you get a call from Gideon?”
He shook his head. “Just looking something up.”
When she continued to look at him curiously he searched for an excuse. “Weather. Just checking the weather.”
She appeared to take what he said without comment.
“Don’t forget to get the fruit from Fannie Mae on the way home.”
“I won’t.”
“Coffee should be ready by now. Want a cup?”
“Ya. Danki.”
He walked to the window again and looked out. Still no sign of the van. It seemed to him that it was running a few minutes late.
Emma walked back in with two cups of coffee. “Relax. She’ll be here soon. And you don’t have to stick around. John and I have tended the shop by ourselves before.”
He returned to the seat by John’s crib. “You know what you said earlier? About being happy to be with familye since we married?”
She nodded and took a seat at the quilting table. “Ya.”
“You really meant it, didn’t you?”
“Of course. I love your familye.” She smiled then sipped her coffee. “I think it was so sweet of Gideon to move his things to the downstairs bedroom to give us more privacy. He didn’t need to do that.”
“What would you think of him staying longer?”
“Longer? Eli, you need to stop worrying. He and Hannah are going to make up. They’re too much in love not to.”
“That’s not what I meant. You’d really be allrecht if he stayed longer…and Hannah came to live with us too for a time?” He figured he’d better make schur.
“Well of course that would be fine.” Now she gave him a really big smile. “Do you two think you can refrain from bickering the way you do?”
“We don’t bicker.”
“You do, too. I’ve been around when you two do.”
“Girls bicker. Not guys.”
She glared at him. “I’ll have you know it’s something both sexes do.”
He grinned at her. “Are you bickering with me?”
Emma burst out laughing, and hearing her, John giggled and bounced in his crib.
“So glad we could entertain you,” Eli told him as he shook his head.
Chapter Thirty
So close and yet so far, Gideon thought.
Hannah sat just inches from him in the van, but it felt like she was miles away.
Gideon noticed she’d edged over as close to the window on her side as possible. But she hadn’t sat in another row because that would likely raise questions from Liz or other passengers.
He had to find a way to get her alone to talk to her and apologize. He’d tossed and turned last night trying to think of what to say to her to make things right again. Now as they rode to work he continued to wonder what he was going to do, what he was going to say to her when they got out.
But when Liz pulled up in front of Gideon’s shop, Hannah fairly bolted out of the vehicle and hurried toward her shop pretending she didn’t hear him calling her.
“Trouble in paradise?” Micah, the jewelry shop owner, joked as he stood unlocking his door.
Gideon forced a laugh and turned to unlock his own shop.
“Hey, sorry, bad joke. Is Hannah okay?”
“Just a little misunderstanding.”
“Women, huh? Well, I’m sure you’ll make up. The Amish believe in forgiveness, right?”
Gideon was glad to see the man didn’t expect an answer and had already entered his shop. He walked into his, locked the door behind him, and headed to the back room.
As he started a pot of coffee he tried not to think about the fact that with Hannah giving him the cold shoulder since their fight at the pond he wasn’t sharing morning coffee with her or the occasional lunch. Well, he was a big boy. It wouldn’t hurt him.
And like Micah said, Hannah wouldn’t stay mad long. She’d forgive him for mangling what he was trying to say that day at the pond.
When the pot finished percolating he poured a mug and took it with him to the front counter. He’d spend the time he usually took drinking coffee and occasionally having a donut with Hannah to do some paperwork.
But his mind wandered, and every time someone passed the shop he found himself hoping she’d come to speak to him.
When opening time came, Gideon was relieved to unlock the door and turn the sign over. Then he sat carving a wooden toy. It kept him busy when the store was empty. When customers walked in, they always seemed to enjoy seeing him working on a toy. He’d learned his customers only really believed they were handmade when they saw him in action.
He sighed. It was entirely too quiet this morning. He needed things to be busy so his thoughts didn’t constantly go around and around like a hamster on an exercise wheel.
When an Englisch couple walked in, Gideon was almost pathetically grateful. He tried not to be too eager to help them. Some customers didn’t like that and wanted to browse in peace. Fortunately they had some questions and wanted help choosing a gift for a grandchild. As he wrapped and then rang up their purchase, they had more questions about where to eat lunch and what to see in the area.
He was truly sorry when they left. They were not only gut company when he was feeling down and alone, they were just the type of people he loved doing business with—so friendly, and they didn’t ask intrusive questions about him being Amish.
More customers came in a short while later and things got busier. The next time he glanced at the clock on the wall it was lunchtime. Another solitary routine because of the rift between him and Hannah. He and Hannah hadn’t been eating lunch together every day for the past week or so because their shops had gotten busier. So he told himself he didn’t miss her as much as he would have if they’d still been having lunch almost every day.
But he wasn’t any better at lying to himself than he was to other people. Food didn’t taste as gut without her sitting on the opposite side of the counter sharing conversation and laughter. He ate his sandwich dispiritedly and decided to eat the apple and cookies he’d packed later when he felt hungrier.
He debated closing for a few minutes and getting some coffee and donuts midafternoon and surprising Hannah as he’d done a few times lately. But fear of being rejected kept him at the shop counter.
When the bell over the door jangled as someone walked in he looked up without en
thusiasm. Then he brightened.
“Emma! John!” He hurried around the counter to greet them. “So nice of you to visit.”
She pushed the stroller inside and shut the door. “We’re taking a little break. Thought we’d stop by and say hello.”
“It’s gut to see a friendly face. Well, John. Don’t you look handsome in your fancy clothes.”
“Your mudder went to so much work to make him this nice outfit for the wedding. I’d save it for him to wear to church, but kinner grow so fast. I thought it would be nice for him to dress up for our first day back to work.”
When John held up his arms Gideon bent to lift him from the stroller. He hugged him and looked at Emma. “Hannah barely spoke to me on the ride in.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry.”
John babbled at Gideon and patted his cheeks. “Thank you, John. I appreciate the sympathy.”
“That’s what he said?” Emma smiled.
“Schur. You didn’t understand that?”
She shook her head. “Nee. We thought we’d see if you needed a break before we went back to Hannah’s. I think John has an hour or two in him before he needs a nap.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“Maybe you’d like to get coffee and something from the bakery and have a little afternoon break with Hannah,” she suggested as she walked behind the counter.
He avoided her gaze. “Nee. I’m schur Hannah doesn’t want to see me.”
“She’s unhappy, too,” Emma blurted out then clapped a hand over her mouth.
His gaze flew to her face. “She is?”
“Don’t you dare tell her I said that,” she said quickly. “Hannah’s my friend. She’s been wunderbaar to John and me since I came back.”
“I won’t.”
“Look, she’s been quiet today and won’t talk to me about it.”
Gideon looked away again. “I’m schur Eli told you what happened.”
She nodded. “He did. I just know if the two of you talked you could straighten things out.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Gideon,” she said quietly. “Try.”
He sighed. “I just didn’t handle it right. I bungled what I wanted to say. I’m not as charming as Eli.”
The Amish Baby Finds a Home Page 23