by Sarah Price
But he continued talking as if he hadn’t heard her. “Any woman, or man, in business should treat their employees with respect. That is one of the valuable lessons that my daed has taught me. While it’s not my business, of course, I was not impressed with her lack of”—he hesitated as if searching for the proper word—“esteem for your hard work.”
“Hannes, I—”
Once again, he continued talking. “I might not know you very well, Ella, but I certainly suspect that you are a righteous young woman who works hard. I don’t believe that anyone should be treated so coarsely, least of all you.” He reached down and plucked a weed that grew alongside the porch step. “It’s a wonder that your parents permit you to work there at all. I was not impressed with her—”
“Hannes,” Ella managed to interrupt him in a soft, but firm, voice. “That’s my family’s business.”
He froze. Something changed in his expression. Was it compassion? Or perhaps pity? Whatever it was, he remained silent for far too long. Her heart began to palpitate, and her palms grew sweaty. Surely he didn’t think that she was like Linda?
Finally, he cast aside the weed and turned his gaze onto her. “I see, Ella.” He paused. “Ella Troyer.” The way he said her name sounded as if he were trying it out, tasting the words to see how they complemented each other. She wondered what he decided. “I hadn’t realized you were a Troyer.”
“So I presumed.”
He coughed into his hand. “I’m sorry I said those things about . . . your mother.”
“Stepmother.”
A look of relief washed over him.
“My maem died when I was younger,” she heard herself say. Suddenly, she felt protective of her father and thought it was necessary to explain how Linda had become part of her life. “Daed remarried so that I wouldn’t have to grow up without a mother.”
Hannes remained silent.
“I . . . I guess I’m fortunate that he did remarry. Otherwise, I’d be alone now,” she added.
“Fortunate.” There was an unusual dryness to his tone. “Indeed.”
Ella nodded. “Ja, my daed started the store, and when he passed away, my stepmother took over running it.” She bit her lower lip, wondering what he was thinking. There was only a momentary silence before she found out.
“Let me ask you a question, Ella.” He took off his hat and twirled it in his hands. “If you were running the general store, what would you do differently from what is being done now?”
The change in subject surprised her, but she was happy to answer the question. Oh! How many nights had she lain awake, thinking of how many changes could be made at the store to improve profitability while addressing the needs of the community?
“Well now, where do I start?” She gave a nervous laugh. It wasn’t often that people asked her for her opinion. “I’d start by lowering prices and rethinking some of the inventory. Echo Creek is a small town, and most folks are farmers. It’s easy to figure out that fancy fabrics and expensive shoes won’t sell.”
He nodded, encouraging her to continue sharing her ideas.
“And I’d have seasonal specials to encourage people to buy more of a certain item so that I could get a better wholesale rate. While the prices would be lower, I’d make a higher profit margin.”
“Go on.”
Ella glanced toward the sky, searching her memory for some of her more recent ideas. “I’d study sales reports and track trends in buying to improve inventory circulation. For example, women don’t normally quilt or crochet in the warmer months, so why stock yarn and quilting squares during that time? That’s money just sitting on the shelves, ja?”
He smiled. “Indeed it is. What else, Ella?”
How she was enjoying herself! The ideas kept coming, and she could hardly sort through them fast enough. “Orders could be taken for something expensive and large, like a quilting frame. Why keep so many in the stockroom, taking up space? Instead, I’d push for people to put down a small deposit during the summer months so that we could place a single order for all of the customers’ frames. And all of those items would already be sold. Inventory in and out makes for higher profits, don’t you think?”
At this, he laughed. “Indeed I do. Why, I think you have quite the head for business, Ella Troyer. It’s a wonder you aren’t running that place.”
She wished that she could join him in laughing, but his comment reminded her that she didn’t run the store, and never would. “I had thought I might run it one day. But Daed’s passing ended that dream.” She sighed. “He didn’t have a will, you see? So everything passed down to his wife. And she doesn’t include me in much more than helping out when one of her dochders doesn’t feel like working.”
It was as close to complaining as Ella would ever get. She hoped that she hadn’t said too much. She’d hate to have Hannes think she was one of those women who groused all the time.
Forcing a smile, she gestured toward the clothesline. “But that’s okay,” she said, hoping she sounded convincing. “It’s just as important to take care of your family, ja?”
He appeared to contemplate what she had said. His eyes flickered back and forth as he studied her. The attention made her feel uncomfortable, and she leaned over to pick up the empty laundry basket, eager to have something in her hands to occupy them.
“I’m sure that you do a wunderbarr gut job of that, too, Ella.” He took a step away from the porch. “Now, I’ve a meeting at the store with your”—he paused, his expression changing to one filled with distaste—“stepmother.” Just the way he said that word made it sound vile. “So I must say farewell to you.” He plopped his hat back onto his head. “For now, anyway.”
As he started to walk away, Ella took a deep breath. Her heart always seemed to flutter whenever Hannes was near. She wished she understood why, for she hardly knew him at all. And yet, there was something about him that simply made her feel light-headed and dizzy. Ferhoodled. Yes, that was the word. She felt ferhoodled whenever he talked to her.
From the street behind the fence, a buggy rattled by. Ella glanced up in time to see Belle wave at her. Ever since her friend’s marriage to Adam Hershberger, Ella barely saw Belle, for their farm was far enough from town to make walking there take too long away from chores, in Linda’s opinion. But oh! How Ella could have used a friend right about now.
Chapter Thirteen
“I can scarce believe it!”
It was Thursday evening, and Linda had just arrived home. From the moment she had walked in, she had been in a tizzy. After pacing the floor in the kitchen, she retreated outside, where she had paced some more. Fortunately, all of her walking back and forth must have tired her out, for now she was seated on the front porch with Drusilla and Anna. Both of her daughters leaned forward in their chairs, anticipating more information about whatever was troubling their mother.
Carrying a large tray that held a pitcher of fresh meadow tea and four glasses, Ella walked out the screen door. The sun lingered over the buildings on the other side of the street, and a fresh breeze blew through the air. It was a pleasant evening with hardly a cloud in the sky. And yet Linda’s mood was a dark storm that ruined what could have been a lovely ending to the day.
After setting the pitcher onto a small table, Ella handed everyone a glass and began to pour their tea. She wondered what she had missed in the conversation, for Linda looked beyond distressed and extremely unhappy.
Drusilla, however, did not mirror her mother’s sentiment. Instead, she leaned forward, her hands clutched together. Unlike Linda, Drusilla appeared excited as she asked, “What did the bishop say, Maem?” Eagerly, she peered into her mother’s face. “Exactly,” she stressed.
Ignoring her daughter’s question, Linda shook her head and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “It’s outrageous! Why, he’s just about making the charity auction into a competition!”
Now Ella’s curiosity was piqued. How could an auction be a competition?
Anna coul
dn’t keep herself from showing her curiosity. “Ja, Maem. What were his exact words?”
Linda cast a scowl in her direction. “Honestly, Anna. I already told you. Must I repeat everything because you never listen the first time?”
Anna looked completely unfazed by her mother’s reprimand.
Ella cleared her throat. “Have I missed something?”
Both Linda and Drusilla ignored her. Anna, however, leaned over and whispered, “The bishop told Maem that the deacon had an idea for the charity auction. They want a separate table for all of the baked goods donated by the congregation’s unmarried women.”
“What’s so terrible about that?” Ella asked. It sounded innocent enough to her. And knowing Deacon King, the rest of the church leaders had agreed to his idea.
Unfortunately, Ella’s question set off Linda once again. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that! The deacon suggested that only the unmarried men can bid on those pies!” She scowled, her lips pressed together in a firm, straight line that emphasized the little wrinkles and deep lines around her mouth. “The young men who win the bids on those treats get to sit with the single women after the auction and eat some of the pie!”
Ella didn’t think that sounded as awful as her stepmother made it sound, but she knew better than to voice her opinion.
“Why, I’ve never heard of such a crazy notion!” Linda continued. “He’s practically auctioning off the young women! It’s just sinful!” She shook her head and clucked her tongue disapprovingly. “It’s a wonder that Miriam King is supporting her husband’s idea! I never took her to be such a liberal-minded person.”
Ignoring her mother’s tirade, Drusilla lit up, her face suddenly aglow. She clutched her hands together and pressed them against her chest. There was a dreamy, faraway expression on her face. “Ach! I wonder if that Henry Clemens will be there!”
At the mention of Henry Clemens, Anna scowled at her sister. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
Drusilla shot a dirty look at her sister. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Uh . . . Timothy Miller?” Anna’s eyes narrowed in a rare moment of standing up to her older sister. “Remember him? You know, ratta-tat-tat.” She mimicked the sound of pebbles against the window.
Drusilla kicked Anna’s shin. “Oh, hush, you!”
Linda’s eyebrows knit together, unquestionably unhappy with her daughter’s question. “Ja, Drusilla. Why would you care if that Clemens boy was at the auction?”
Drusilla gave her mother a blank stare.
Linda wasn’t about to drop the conversation. “Surely you aren’t interested in the likes of him.”
Ella caught her breath at the way Linda said that, as if Hannes were anything other than a right proper young man. She could hardly fathom what Hannes had done to Linda for her to have such a poor opinion of him. If anything, Hannes had the right to think poorly of her.
This time, it was Anna who spoke up. “What’s wrong with Henry Clemens?” she asked, her voice exposing her dismay at her mother’s comment.
“Really, Maem. What faults could you possibly find in him?” Drusilla added, a dreamy expression on her face. “Personally, I think he’s rather attractive.”
Linda, however, merely scoffed at her daughter’s remark. “I hardly think appearances matter, Drusilla. Not in business, anyway. What matters the most is whether or not his daed invests in our store. After meeting with that Henry, I doubt that will happen. On my part, anyway.” She gave a little shake of her head. “Frankly, I haven’t been impressed with his son, that’s for sure and certain.”
“Why not?” Ella managed to ask, hoping that she had properly masked her curiosity. After having talked with Hannes earlier, she was more than impressed with him and couldn’t help but wonder why Linda wasn’t. And she continued to speak poorly of the young man. Was her stepmother questioning his character? Or was she merely threatened by his business acumen? “He certainly made a good point about the location of the clocks you have for sale on consignment.” She couldn’t help but stress the word “consignment” and hoped that her stepmother didn’t pick up on it.
This time, Linda turned her attention to Ella. “What would you know about such things, Ella? But since you asked, I’ll tell you. If the father’s so interested in partnering with us, why would he send his son?” There was a sharpness to her voice, as if telling Ella that she should have known better than to ask. “I suspect the father must be a poor businessman, that’s for sure and certain! And his son?” She made a dismissive noise. “Instead of discussing the partnership arrangement, he hasn’t done more than walk around the store and talk about pricing and placement of the items on the shelves. Now, if that doesn’t show poor business skills, then I don’t know what else does!”
Ella wanted to point out that, just the other day, Linda had been complaining about declining sales and her unpaid tax bill. If Linda wanted to accuse someone of poor business skills, she only had to look in the mirror. Her own lack of business acumen was what had gotten her into such dire straits in the first place. But Ella knew better than to say something so cutting, so she held her tongue.
Besides, she didn’t think Hannes’s inquiring about pricing and product placement was such a bad idea. After all, any person considering a business venture with someone else needed to understand what they were getting into. Asking questions was the fastest way to learn about how another person operated. And he had learned an awful lot about Linda Troyer from just that one meeting, that was for sure and certain.
“Henry can’t be that poor, Maem,” Anna said, her face alight with excitement. “I just saw him the other day, and he drives a new courting buggy with a Dutch Harness horse!”
Her remark surprised Ella. Not because Anna was focusing on the material things that Hannes had—no, that was to be expected from her two stepsisters—but because Ella hadn’t been aware that Anna knew that much about Hannes. Or even cared, for that matter. While Drusilla had made her interest in the young man more than obvious, especially after the last worship service, clearly Anna, too, was pining for him, even if only in secret.
“Well, after our meeting this morning at the store, I suspect he’s driven that new buggy and fancy horse right out of town,” Linda said, waving her hand toward the road.
Ella’s heart felt as if it dropped to the bottom of her stomach. Had her stepmother truly run Hannes from Echo Creek? And, if so, why on earth would she sound so pleased? Clearly Linda did not understand the ramifications of what she had done. The Clemens’ interest in the store had been a miracle in and of itself. If Linda had truly chased away Hannes, what were the chances that another interested party might approach them?
Apparently Ella wasn’t the only one who realized that turning off Hannes was a mistake.
Drusilla’s face fell as her mouth opened. “Maem! Why would you do that?”
Quickly, Anna chimed in with her own commentary. “I thought you wanted to partner with them, especially after you were denied the bank loan.”
Ella’s eyes widened, and the color drained from her face. No one had told her that the loan request had been turned down! She turned toward Linda, who appeared completely unperturbed.
While it was clear that Linda truly had no concept of what dire straits the family was now in, Ella did. She stared at her stepmother, shocked at how calm the woman remained. “The bank rejected your loan application?”
“Oh, Ella!” Linda rolled her eyes, demonstrating her contempt for the bank. “It’s not a big deal. Who wants to pay such high interest to the bank anyway?”
Someone who wants to keep their business, Ella thought. “And now you’ve driven off a potential partner?” Ella felt her heart begin to race. Without the loan and without a partner, they were worse off than before. There was one, and only one, thing that could possibly happen, and Ella didn’t want to think about foreclosure.
“What will we do now?” she asked. “How will you pay those back taxes?”
“Why,
Ella, must you always be so melodramatic?”
“But, Maem,” she started, “without the loan, how will you pay the tax bill?”
“I’ll just find another person interested in partnering with me.”
The solution sounded so simple, but Ella knew otherwise. Anyone from Echo Creek who knew Linda would not want to partner with her. They would be too aware of her poor business acumen and difficult personality. And the likelihood that another outsider would come to Echo Creek and be interested was highly unlikely.
“But you had someone interested in doing just that,” Ella said, struggling with keeping her voice calm. “What happened?”
“Well, Ella, not that it’s any of your concern, but I’ll tell you.” Linda wore an expression of superiority as she answered. “That Henry tried to negotiate with me. He wanted to own fifty-one percent of the business. I had to set him straight as to who runs the show! I’m not about to let someone tell me how to run my business.”
“That’s the whole idea behind a partnership.” Ella could tell that she was treading a fine line. However, she simply could not believe that Linda had chased Hannes away. Perhaps it was the fact that Hannes had left Echo Creek, or maybe it was the fact that Linda was a terrible businessperson, but Ella couldn’t sit there quietly for one more moment. “Sharing ideas and trying new things in order to improve the business. If what you were doing was working, you wouldn’t need a partner.”
And with that, the line was clearly crossed.
“Enough!” Linda’s voice boomed, her irritation more than clear. “I’ve heard enough from you, Ella. Isn’t it time for you to do your barn chores?”
Despite having already finished her chores in the barn, Ella took the opening to escape Linda’s increasingly foul mood. She hurried through the kitchen and out the back door, practically running toward the barn.
She sank into a pile of loose hay and covered her face in her arms while she allowed herself a rare moment to cry. If only Linda would let her help run the store, Ella knew things would improve. And as far as the money owed to the IRS, Ella also knew that needed to be paid. She was smart enough to have learned from her father about the importance of paying taxes. If the government put a lien on the store, how on earth would the Troyer family survive?