The Peacemaker, page 15
“That’s good. Go ahead and set it on the large pot holder in the center of the table, and I’ll get the mixed green salad I made earlier out of the refrigerator.” Mama smiled. “We’ll eat as soon as your daed and Clara come into the house from the barn.”
“Okay.” Ada did as her mother had requested, and while Mama took out the salad, Ada poured iced tea in each of the glasses. “It’s too bad Betty and Ammon couldn’t join us for supper this evening. How long have you known they weren’t coming?”
“I found a message from Ammon an hour ago. He said Betty has struggled with nausea most of the day.” Mama set the salad on the table and pulled a package of napkins apart. “Poor thing. I feel bad that she’s having a problem with morning sickness that carries into a good portion of the day.”
“That’s too bad.” Although Ada was envious of Betty being married to a man she dearly loved and expecting their first child, she didn’t envy the nausea she knew often came with pregnancy. Betty had told her recently that the sickness she felt was often brought on by certain odors or for no specific reason at all.
“Is there another young people’s gathering this evening?” Ada’s mother asked, moving their conversation in another direction.
“Jah, a group from another church district will be getting together for a volleyball game, but I don’t plan to go.”
“How come?”
Ada stifled a yawn behind the palm of her hand. “For one thing, I’m tired from working at the greenhouse. Things were really busy today, and I only had the opportunity to sit for a short time during my lunch break.”
Mama made a clicking noise with her tongue. “Ada, it’s not good for you to be on your feet all day with only a short break to sit. I’m thinking your boss might be working you too hard.”
She gave a firm shake of her head. “I could take longer breaks if I wanted to, but it’s good for me to keep busy and not sit too long.”
Ada didn’t explain to Mama, but when she didn’t keep busy, her thoughts took over, and she usually ended up feeling sorry for herself. Although Ada enjoyed her job at the greenhouse as well as spending time with her family, she longed to have a boyfriend to make plans with and share special moments together. Attending gatherings where many of the young people were in relationships was a painful reminder that Ada had never had a serious boyfriend.
Her mind drifted to Ephraim and how pleasant it had been to visit with him for a little while this morning in the harness shop. If only he could forget about Rosa, who is most likely never coming back, and see me as more than a friend. Ada clenched the handle of the glass pitcher. Is it terrible of me to feel this way?
“Are we too late for supper?” Ada’s father asked when he and Clara entered the kitchen.
Ada was grateful for the interruption. She needed to focus on something other than Ephraim and her yearning to be with him.
“Of course you’re not too late.” Ada’s mother hugged him. “Everything’s ready, and all you two need to do is wash up and join us at the table.”
While Clara and Papa took turns at the sink, Ada set some pickled beets and a jar of olives on the table. She and Mama had kept the meal simple this evening, but sometimes simplicity was good.
Once everyone was seated and prayers had been said, Ada’s father asked her if she had gotten the harnesses dropped off at Lewis Peight’s harness shop this morning.
Ada sipped from the rim of her glass before responding. “Jah, but Ephraim was there alone and said he wasn’t sure how long it would take to get the harnesses repaired.”
“How come he was by himself?” Papa questioned.
Ada relayed the information Ephraim had given her about the accident involving Noah’s brother. “I haven’t heard an update yet, but I’ve been praying for Caleb, and I hope he’s going to be okay.”
“We shall pray for him too,” Mama said before she passed Ada the green salad, while Dad put some of the casserole on his plate.
“What about Lewis Peight?” Papa handed the casserole to Ada. “Did Ephraim say how his father is doing?”
“He said that his daed’s coming home from the hospital sometime today,” Ada replied. “And it’s a good thing Ephraim came home to help out, because it might be quite a while before Lewis can return to work.”
“Family helping family.” Mama nodded. “That’s how it should be.”
“You’re right,” Papa agreed. “And I’m dankbaar for each of you and everything you do around here to help out.”
Clara spoke up for the first time since they’d all been seated. “We’re thankful for you and Mama too.” She looked at Ada. “Isn’t that right?” Ada nodded. “Absolutely. We all need and appreciate each other.”
It went without saying. Even if she moved out of her parents’ house, Ada knew she’d still need her family’s support. But Ada didn’t need to worry about it right now because she wouldn’t be moving out of her parents’ home anytime soon. When she was younger, Ada had envisioned that she’d already be married by the time she was twenty-two, so even if she did move out, she wondered whether she might end up an old maid for the rest of her life.
Allensville
“Where’s Daddi?” Judith asked as she helped Sarah fill glasses of water for the table. “I thought he was supposed to come home today.”
“He will be here soon,” Sarah responded. “Your mamm called around noon and left a message saying that they were waiting for the results of another test the doctor had ordered, so it might be closer to suppertime before they get here.”
“But supper’s ready now, and they’re still not here.” Judith’s lower lip protruded. “I’ve missed my daed, and I can’t wait to see him.”
“We’re all eager to have Dad home,” Lydia called from across the room where she’d been helping Priscilla set the table.
“Your bruder is not home yet either,” Sarah said, glancing at the clock. “I’m sure he’s trying to get caught up on the work that’s been piling up at the harness shop.”
“He has Noah there to help him, so I bet they got a lot done today,” Lydia commented.
“That could be.” Sarah hurried across the room to baste the chicken she’d put in to bake an hour ago. She wanted to keep it from drying out by the time they served it. She wished now that she hadn’t started cooking the meal so early, but if she’d waited until Lewis, Dorothy, and Ephraim got here, they would all be eating a late supper. Lewis probably had medication that needed to be taken with food, which was one more reason she hoped they could eat soon.
“I think Mom and Dad’s driver is here,” Judith announced. “I heard a vehicle pull into the yard.” She raced out of the kitchen before Sarah could comment.
Priscilla and Lydia followed their sister, and Sarah trailed behind them. It seemed that the girls were as eager to have Lewis home as she was.
When the front door swung open and Ephraim stepped in, Judith groaned. “Oh, it’s just you.”
He tweaked her nose. “Don’t look so disappointed. I do live here right now, you know.”
“When we heard a vehicle, we all believed it was your mamm and daed’s driver,” Sarah interjected.
Ephraim’s russet brows furrowed. “Dad’s not here? Wasn’t he supposed to be discharged from the hospital this afternoon?”
“That was the plan,” Sarah replied, raising a finger. “But things changed, and your mamm left a message earlier, saying they wouldn’t get here until closer to suppertime.”
“Oh, I see. Well, since they aren’t here, I may as well go out to the barn and do a few chores.” Ephraim handed his lunch box to Priscilla. “Would you please put this away for me?”
“Okay.” She headed for the kitchen as Ephraim went out the front door.
Ephraim ambled into the barn and sank onto a bale of straw. It had been a long day, and he was exhausted. He’d heard from Noah late this afternoon, letting him know that his brother had a broken arm, a broken leg, and multiple bruises and scrapes. Fortunately, there had been no head trauma, so his injuries were not life-threatening. He’d ended the message by saying he would be at the harness shop to work Saturday morning. In addition to being grateful that Caleb’s injuries hadn’t been worse, Ephraim felt thankful that his father’s employee would be there to assist him tomorrow. After a hectic day like today, he knew without question that it would be difficult to manage the harness shop by himself. Even so, he felt up to the challenge.
Sure wish I could stay here permanently and work in Dad’s shop. With the exception of running into Norman Petersheim from time to time, I’d be pretty happy living here again. He heaved a sigh and rose to his feet. Seems like I’ve spent most of my life wishing for things that never happen. When am I gonna accept the fact that life doesn’t always go the way I want it to?
Ephraim had finished taking care of the horses and was on his way back to the house when a van he recognized pulled onto the graveled driveway. Oh, good … Dad and Mom are here.
When the vehicle stopped, Ephraim stepped forward and opened the front passenger’s door. Dad got out, looking better than he had at the hospital, and after Mom exited from the back door of the van, she took hold of Dad’s arm. She held some cash in her other hand, which she handed to Ephraim. “Would you please give this to our driver while I help your daed into the house?”
Dad stared at her and shook his head. “I don’t need any assistance. I can walk inside by myself.”
When Ephraim saw the look of determination on his father’s face, he figured Dad would get his way, and he didn’t want to intervene. So he skirted around to the driver’s side to pay Ron and headed for the house behind his folks.
Once inside, he gave Dad a hug, and within seconds, Grandma and Ephraim’s siblings gathered around and did the same. Mom suggested that Dad lie on the couch until supper was ready, but he said he wasn’t tired and didn’t need to lie down.
“Fact is,” he added, “I’ve spent the last several days lying in a hospital bed most of the time, and I’m sick of being treated like an invalid.”
You will be an invalid if you continue to push yourself when you’re not ready, Ephraim thought, but he did not dare voice those words aloud.
“Why don’t we all go to the kitchen?” Grandma suggested. “Supper is keeping warm.” She patted Dad’s arm. “So if you’re hungerich, we can eat right away.”
“I’m definitely hungry,” he replied, “and it will be nice to eat something other than the bland food they fed me at the hospital.”
“You will have to watch what you eat from now on,” Mom said as they all headed for the kitchen.
Dad shrugged and looked the other way.
After everyone had taken their seats at the table and said their silent prayers, Dad asked Ephraim how things went at the harness shop today.
“It was okay, but I ended up working by myself because Noah’s brother Caleb got hit by a car on his way to school this morning, so Noah was at the hospital with the family and didn’t work at all today.”
“Oh dear!” Mom’s eyes widened. “Was the boy seriously hurt?”
“I found out from Noah later in the day that his brother’s injuries weren’t life-threatening, but he did suffer some broken bones, as well as bruises and scrapes.” Ephraim took a biscuit from the basket that had been passed to him and slathered it with butter. “Noah plans to be at work tomorrow, though, so it should be an easier day all around.”
“I’m glad you won’t have to work alone.” Dad plucked out a biscuit and cut a generous pad of butter, but returned half of it when Mom clicked her tongue loudly and reminded him that he needed to watch his cholesterol.
Ephraim expected it would be tough to keep his father’s cholesterol down and even more difficult for his mother not to press too hard about what Dad should or shouldn’t eat or do.
Belleville
Except for all the questions that had been asked of Ben during supper, Susan thought things had gone fairly well. After the meal, however, when the dishes were done and everyone retired to the living room for dessert, Susan was beginning to have her doubts. Somehow, after Ben had seated himself on one end of the couch, Tena and Alvin managed to sit in the middle, which left only the other end available for Susan to sit. On top of that, her siblings kept bombarding Ben with one question after another. It seemed like they were doing it on purpose, to keep Susan and Ben apart. She wondered if Norman had put Alvin and Tena up to it when she’d seen him talking to them before Ben arrived. Susan’s jaw clenched at the sight of Ben sitting at the far end of the couch conversing with her siblings. It should have been her and Ben talking to each other.
Susan’s fingernails bit into the palms of her hands as she struggled to hold her temper. It was getting late, and she couldn’t understand why Mom or Dad hadn’t at least told Alvin that it was past time for him to go to bed. If one of her siblings left the living room, she’d have a better chance of sitting beside Ben. Susan wondered if Ben felt as much irritation with Alvin and Tena as she did right now, but the conversation between the three of them never lagged, so maybe he was fine with the way things were. Ben talked fast and was rather boisterous as he entertained them with stories about the spirited horse he’d left in Gordonville.
“Why didn’t you bring him here?” Alvin questioned.
“I’ve thought about it, but I’m not sure yet if I want to make Belleville my permanent home,” Ben replied. “And until I make up my mind, I may as well leave him back home for my brother Arlan to put to good use.”
“How old is he?” The question came from Tena.
“You mean my bruder or my gaul?”
“Your brother, of course.” Tena giggled and so did Alvin.
Like water heating in a saucepan, Susan’s annoyance threatened to boil over. She wished she had the power to make her younger brother and sister go upstairs to bed.
“Ben, would you like another piece of peach pie?” Mom inquired.
“No, thanks, Mrs. Petersheim.”
“Please, call me Elsie. And don’t be bashful. There’s still plenty of pie left.”
“The dessert was very good, but one piece is enough for me. Besides, I really should get going. I’ll have to be at my uncle’s buggy shop early tomorrow morning, which means I should already be in bed.” Ben stood and told everyone goodbye.
Susan rose from her seat as well, intending to follow Ben to get his horse from the barn. Before she could make that known, however, Norman jumped up, announced that he would get Ben’s horse, and rushed out the door.
Susan felt sure that if her boyfriend went out with Norman, her brother was bound to say something to Ben that could discourage him from seeing Susan again. So even though Tena had announced that they were going to the kitchen to do the dessert dishes, Susan chose to ignore them and followed Ben out the front door.
The tranquility of the muggy nighttime air greeted Susan as she hastened from the porch and wandered over to Ben. The sole light source was the moon in the sky, yet it was bright enough to illuminate her parents’ entire property.
“Since Norman is getting your horse, I’ll wait here with you at the hitching rail,” Susan was quick to say.
“I like the sound of that.” Ben slipped his arm around Susan’s waist and gave her a quick kiss. Even though it was a fleeting motion, to Susan it was thrilling. When the kiss ended, he stroked Susan’s cheek and said, “I figured since we didn’t even get to sit together tonight, I’d better take advantage of the time before Norman arrives with my cousin’s horse.”
Ben’s words were spoken gently, as he whispered in Susan’s ear, and all thoughts of the irritation she’d felt toward her siblings vanished like a puff of vapor. She was confident that if Ben didn’t care for her, he would not have offered that tender kiss. Since Ben had been courteous and pleasant the whole evening, Susan felt sure that her parents, and maybe even Norman, had found no fault with Ben. She looked forward to seeing him again soon, but for the next date, she hoped Ben would take her someplace where they could be alone.
CHAPTER 17
Allensville
IT HAD BEEN TWO WEEKS since Ephraim had been managing the harness shop, and he was ever so thankful for young Noah’s help. They’d been busier than ever and weren’t caught up with all the work, but he and his helper were chipping away at it, and Ephraim hoped they would soon get there.
“Sorry for being late,” Noah said when he entered the shop a few minutes after Ephraim had put the OPEN sign in the window close to the front door.
“That’s okay,” Ephraim replied. “We haven’t had any customers yet anyway.”
Noah removed his straw hat and hung it on an empty wall peg. “Things were a little crazy at our house this morning, and I had to help my mamm deal with a problem, so I didn’t get out the door when I’d hoped.”
Ephraim’s brows drew together. “Is everything okay?”
“Jah. Nothing serious. Mom was having trouble getting Caleb to stop wiggling while she cut his hair, and she asked me to hold his head still.”
“How is your bruder doing? Are his injuries real painful?”
“Not too bad, or so he says. Caleb will see the doctor again next week for another X-ray, so we’ll know more then.” Noah pulled his fingers through the ends of his thick blond hair. “How’s your daed? Is he getting his strength back?”
Ephraim nodded. “Slow but sure. Between my mamm and my grossmammi, Dad is reminded regularly that he needs to take it easy and do all the things the doctor said.”
“I bet it’s hard for him not to be working here anymore.”
“Jah. He doesn’t like being cooped up at home all day with no job to go to.”
“Speaking of work … what have you got for me to do today?”
Ephraim gestured to the back part of the shop. “You can get to work on the two harnesses that came in yesterday, and I’ll help you with them as soon as I make a few phone calls.”
“Okay.” Noah rolled up his shirtsleeves and headed for the back room.
Ephraim smiled. It was nice to have a second pair of hands helping him. He could never keep up with things by himself. He glanced at the cardboard box on the shelf where he put things waiting to be picked up. Yesterday, he had finished repairing Jacob Detweiler’s harnesses that Ada had brought in two weeks ago. He’d called and left a message yesterday and figured someone from the Detweiler family would be by soon to pick them up.
