Gabriel whispered to Selena, “That's Michael Glick, the owner.”
Selena had a good look at him. He was a man of around forty and he seemed pleased to see Gabriel. He made his way over to them. “Gabe, what brings you out tonight?”
“Hunger mostly. Michael, this is Selena, a good friend of mine, and she's Abner Troyer’s daughter.”
“Granddaughter.” She corrected him with a laugh.
“Yes. I’m sorry.” He rubbed his chin.
Michael stared at her. “Really? You're Kate's daughter?”
“You know my mother?”
“I do. It's nice that you've come back.”
“Find us a quiet table, would you, Michael?”
Michael looked around the restaurant. “It's gonna be hard tonight. How about there in the far corner?”
“Perfect.”
They followed Michael to the table and he put a reserved sign on it. “You know the drill, when you're ready grab a plate and fill it.”
Selena had already figured out it was an all-you-can-eat restaurant.
“Denke, Michael.”
“Your meals are on the house tonight.” Michael looked at Selena and smiled.
“Hey, you don't have to do that,” Gabriel said.
“I told you before I owe you one.” He gave Gabriel a slap on the back.
“Okay but that's not what I came here for. I had to feed Selena. She needed a decent meal. She's fading away to nothing.”
Michael chuckled. “She looks fine to me. Anyway, enjoy yourselves.”
“Thanks, Michael.” Once he’d walked away, Selena said, “He seems nice.”
“Everyone in the community’s nice.”
She smiled at him. “Why does he owe you one?”
“I sent a lot of people here when his business was getting off the ground. I guess that's what he means.” After a waitress set down crusty warm rolls and butter for them, Gabriel asked, “Are you ready to get some food?”
“I sure am.”
“After you.”
She made her way to the serving counter and side-by-side they filled their plates with the familiar foods she’d missed. Her mother stopped cooking food like that when Frederick had died, back when Selena was a young teenager. Then they’d survived on takeout.
Selena filled her plate with roasted meat in gravy, mashed potatoes, buttered noodles and green beans until she couldn’t fit any more on her plate. She glanced at Gabriel’s plate to see he’d chosen the same. “We like the same food.”
He looked at her plate and laughed. “It seems we do.”
They headed back to their table, and Selena didn’t waste time before she had a mouthful of the meat. It almost melted in her mouth. “Mmm. I didn’t think I’d say this, but this is even better than my mother used to make.”
He laughed at her. “I won’t tell her that when I meet her.”
“You’ll never meet her. She’ll never come here because she’d miss her soap operas on TV. They’re on every day, and on the weekends she watches replays of them. She’s addicted.”
“She won’t come to our wedding even?”
Selena laughed at him and shook her head.
Once they’d eaten and had both decided against dessert, they were still sitting at their table, when Gabriel suggest a walk before they went home.
“Yes, why not?” She found herself enjoying his company.
As they walked down the darkened road, Selena felt comfortable enough to share something with him. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.”
“From the time I was a little girl, I was always fascinated by the Amish. I was upset with my mother for leaving. I told her she should’ve stayed on.”
“Is that right?”
She looked up at him and saw his smiling face. “Yes. I begged her to sew me an Amish dress and kapp and she did. I used to wear them around the house.” She giggled as she remembered the feeling she got while wearing them.
“Maybe you were right and she was never meant to leave.”
She shrugged. It would’ve been difficult to stay considering the circumstances of her birth. “I was born out of the community. My life would be so different if she’d stayed.”
“Better, I hope.”
“I would’ve had no college degree, no police training, and I wouldn’t have met Eugene.”
“Yes, better.”
She laughed at him. He was becoming so easy to be around now that she understood him a little better. With him, nothing was hidden because he always said what he thought without filtering it or worrying how others would react.
After they walked a few paces farther, he said, “I can show you my store. It’s not far from here.”
“Okay. I’d really like to see it.”
They walked onto a busier road and then he stopped in front of a double storefront with large glass windows. The sign read, Amish Crafts.
“I don’t have keys with me: otherwise I would’ve shown you inside.”
“That’s all right. I can get the idea what it’s like from here. I didn’t think it would be this big.” She put her hands up and peered into the window looking at the small wooden toys, the quilts, the sewing kits for samplers, and all manner of Amish goods. “Wow, there’s everything in there.”
“I know. It does well.”
She looked up at him. “You’re so different from when I first met you. I have to tell you I thought you were a little ... well, loopy.”
“Loopy?”
“Looney, um, well crazy. Not right in the head.”
He threw his head back and laughed like he usually did. “Thanks very much.”
“You thought God had sent me to marry you or something.”
“That’s right. Does that make me crazy?”
“Yes, kind of.” She stared at him.
“I hope you don’t still think that.” He chuckled.
“Not now, but we’re not getting married.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I can always hope, Selena. You can’t take hope away.”
Now it was her turn to laugh. “I’m getting married to Eugene and that’s that. If you hope too much you’ll end up disappointed.”
“If you were my fiancé, I would’ve accompanied you on this trip. I’d always be with you.”
“Ah, but he’s a very busy and hugely successful lawyer.”
“Hmm.” He looked down at the ground. “That’s too bad.”
“No, it’s good.” When he didn’t respond, she had to know what he was thinking. “What’s bad?”
“I’m guessing he works long hours and that’s why you’re not happy?”
“Who said I wasn’t happy?”
“I did.”
“What makes you think that?”
His eyes twinkled. “You came out to dinner with me.”
“Yes, but just as friends. It wasn’t a date. I’m in love with my fiancé.”
“Okay. I believe you.” He kept walking and she caught up with him. “Have you been in love before?” he asked.
“Not before him, no. I’ve only had two boyfriends before him and only for a couple months at a time. They weren’t long relationships.”
“How do you know if it’s real love with Eugene?”
“Because I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. And, I certainly wouldn’t marry an Amish man.” She giggled at the thought.
“Your whole family was Amish, so I don’t think it’s out of the question.”
“It definitely is.”
“That’s sad. I guess we won’t be getting married then.”
“I’m glad you finally understand.”
“As I said before, I can hope. With a woman like you, my life would be complete. I’d be a happy man for the rest of my days. There’d be nothing else I’d want apart from food and water, and a roof over my head.”
She rubbed her chin, and looked up at him as his pace quickened. “Surely there’s a woman in the community who’d suit you?”
“No, there are none, sadly.”
She hurried to keep up, but it was hard in her heels. “Someone will come along.”
“Perhaps.”
“Can you slow down a little?”
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I usually walk that briskly. I was walking slower before so you would feel more comfortable. We should head back to the car.”
“Okay.” They turned back to the car, and she was surprised she didn’t want the night to end. Surely she was just lonely because she was away from Eugene. When her cell phone rang, she fished it out of her bag and saw it was Eugene. She flipped the phone onto silent and let it fall from her fingers into her bag.
“Is that your …”
“Yes. I’ll call him back later.”
“Don’t mind me. Call him now if you’d like. I’ll walk down the road a little and you can stay here.”
“No, it’s fine. It’ll just go to voicemail and I’ll call him back later.” A few paces later, she asked, “Did you go on rumspringa?”
“No. I didn’t feel the need. Most of my friends did. Two of them never came back. It’s sad, really.”
“Do you have brothers and sisters?”
“It’s just me. What about yourself?”
“I’m an only child too.”
“Ah.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked at her. “What’s that?”
“You said ‘ah,’ like there was something wrong with being an only child.”
He laughed. “I’m one. I meant nothing by it. I just made a sound. It didn’t mean anything. Relax. You’re all wound up.” He put his arms behind her neck and touched the top of her shoulders with both of his hands. “Yes. You’re full of tension.” He let go of her.
“You’re right. I guess everything over the last few days has been a lot to process.”
“That’s true. It must be hard for you.”
If he could see that why couldn’t Eugene? Eugene couldn’t see past his busy life to realize she had needs as well. What would it be like to have a relationship with a man like Gabriel? All his attention would be focused on her. It would be a welcome change.
Selena was sad the night was coming to an end and, seeing as the next day was Sunday, she knew she wouldn’t see Gabriel again until Monday.
Chapter 21
At the end of the preaching on Sunday, the bishop made announcements.
“I'm sure many of you remember a few years ago when our friend and brother Abner was sent to prison for a crime?” Half the crowd nodded and murmured. “If anybody has any information about that, anything at all that you think might be important, please see me or Ettie Smith.”
Elsa-May whispered to Ettie, “He wasn’t supposed to say to see him.”
“I know,” Ettie whispered out of the side of her mouth.
“What use is that?”
“Shh.”
When people turned around and stared at them, Ettie smiled back. The bishop continued with his announcements and then it was time for fellowship and the meal afterward.
Ettie was standing outside the house where the meeting had been hosted, hoping and waiting for someone to approach her, while Elsa-May helped herself to a meal.
“I have some information for you, Ettie.”
Ettie turned around to see Gabriel’s aunt, Ruth. “That's good. About whom?”
“We can’t talk here. Can you come to my haus after the meeting?”
“Jah, I can do that.”
“I have something to show you. Oh, you don't have a buggy, do you?”
“Nee. We don’t. Jeremiah and Ava take us to and from the meetings.”
“I’ll take you to my place and then take you back to your home, okay?”
“That would be wonderful. I'll just tell Jeremiah that we don’t need a ride today.” As she looked around for Jeremiah or Ava, she saw both of them getting into their buggy. When she found Elsa-May, she learned what had happened.
“They’ve gone because she’s going into labor,” Elsa-May told her.
“Right now?”
“Jah.”
“That’s wunderbaar. Oh, and Ruth Yoder is taking us home, but before that she said she has something to show us at her haus. Something to do with Abner.”
“Has anyone else talked to you?”
“Nee, that’s all,” Ettie said.
When Ettie and Elsa-May got to Ruth’s house, she had them sit at the kitchen table and then she used a step-stool to get a box from on top of the kitchen cupboard. It was a cardboard box with floral paper glued onto it.
“These are things from Gabriel's mother. He said it was family papers and I would have more use of them.” She carefully opened the lid and placed it beside the box. “I have a letter. It never made much sense but now I think it does.” She took out a yellowed piece of paper, unfolded it and handed it to Ettie.
Ettie took the letter and read it. It was a letter to Gabriel. His mother apologized to him for having ‘father unknown’ on his birth certificate, and told him his real father was Wayne something; the last name was partially there but hard to read because it had been eaten through by moths. Ettie looked up at Ruth and handed the letter over to Elsa-May.
“I know the man who was run down was called Wayne. Do you think this might have anything to do with it? My schweschder was in and out of the community for a while, and she never told me who Gabriel’s father really was.”
Elsa-May adjusted her glasses and read the letter. “The same Wayne?” Elsa-May asked as she handed the letter back. Ruth absently refolded it and laid it in the box.
Ettie told Ruth, “We have been told that Wayne was involved with two Amish women. I wonder if it’s the same Wayne. You never raised this issue with Gabriel?”
“Nee, he mustn’t have gone through all the paperwork. I didn’t want to upset him especially with no last name that is decipherable.”
“It’s not much of a clue,” Elsa-May said. “There must be many Englischers named Wayne in the world.”
“The time frame, though, Elsa-May.”
“What do you think we should do with this information?” Elsa-May asked Ruth.
Ruth fetched the letter back out of the box. “You tell him.”
Ettie’s mouth dropped open. She recalled how Selena had taken the news about her father’s identity.
Elsa-May leaned forward, took the letter, and rose to her feet. “We'll have to go there now, Ettie.”
“Want to take my buggy? He doesn't live far away.”
“Would you mind?” Elsa-May asked.
“If I’d minded I wouldn't have offered,” Ruth said.
Ettie stood and followed Elsa-May out of the house, still not sure whether they should talk with Gabriel.
As the sisters approached the buggy, Elsa-May said, “You want to drive?”
“Nee, you do it.”
Elsa-May climbed into the driver's seat and Ettie sat next to her. “It's been a long time since I've driven a buggy,” Elsa-May said.
“I know, me too. How are we going to tell him? He’ll be devastated.”
“But we don't know for sure, Ettie. It’s just telling him, which is showing him the letter and then he can go make his own conclusions.”
Ettie shook her head. “Okay.” Half of Ettie didn’t want to tell him, the other half thought he should know.
“I can’t believe Ruth’s the only person who came up to you after the meeting with any information.”
“Mmm-hmm. The only one out of everybody. No one went to the bishop. I kept an eye on him. Every little piece of information puts another piece of the puzzle together and pieces will solve the mystery.”
“I hope so. I really can't say it will be to everyone's satisfaction, though.”
When they pulled up at the house, Gabriel came out to meet them.
“This is an unexpected surprise. I’ve only just got home from the meeting.”
“This is a letter from your Aunt Ruth,” Elsa-May said, ma
tter-of-factly.
He stared at them looking a little confused. “I just saw her today. Isn’t that her horse and buggy?”
“Jah, she let us borrow it so we could talk with you. You see, the reason we are here is because … can we come inside, Gabriel?”
“Of course. Come into the living room.”
Once they were sitting down, Elsa-May said, “Ruth gave us this letter out of the box that you gave her after your mother died.” She passed it to him.
“It might be a little disturbing,” Ettie told him as he stared at the letter in his hands.
He frowned at them, and after he read it the letter dropped into his lap. Looking up, he said, “My father's name was Wayne?”
“That’s what it says.” Elsa-May nodded.
“You don’t think it’s the same Wayne …”
“It's a possibility,” Ettie said. “The time frame fits.”
Elsa-May said, “We can't rule it out since there was talk of him seeing two Amish women at the same time.”
“I guess it makes sense. I’m not sure when she was in or out of the community. I just know she was in and out about the time of my birth. I guessed my father was an Englischer, that part was obvious, but she’d never talk about him. I was two when she returned and got baptized into the community and that’s all I know.”
“She never married even though there were several attempts to match her with men in the community, by nearly everybody,” Elsa-May said.
“Yes, I heard there were a lot of people who tried to match her with potential husbands, but my mother just wasn't interested. I thought it was because she loved my father so much.” He slowly shook his head. “Now I think the opposite was the case. It is possible she never trusted a man again because of what Wayne did to her. Did he abandon her? Cheat on her? It seems so, especially if we’re talking about the same Wayne.”
Ettie said, “I'm sorry to deliver the news to you like this, but we thought you should know because if this Wayne is your father, that means …”
“Oh no ... that means that I might be closely related to Selena. I have to find her and tell her.” He jumped up. “I'm sorry to leave in a rush like this.”
“It's quite all right. We just came to give you the letter.” Elsa-May and Ettie headed to their borrowed buggy while Gabriel headed to the barn to hitch up his own buggy.
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 6 Page 22