“I can’t do anything.” Lucy bit her lip. “Of course, I can’t. His mind is totally set on Grace still, I’m sure of it.”
“Grace has been gone a long time.”
“I know. If only he was someone else, or he hadn’t been going to marry Grace.” She heaved a sigh.
The two girls looked at each other and raised their eyebrows when they heard a car stop in front of the house.
“That’ll be him,” Lucy whispered.
“Should I go?” Olive asked.
“Nee, stay a while. It will look funny if you leave right away.”
Olive nodded and walked to the door. Lucy heard them greet each other in the doorway.
“Have some pizza with us, Olive?” Joshua asked.
“Nee denke. Mamm likes the familye to eat together on a Sunday night.”
Joshua put the pizza boxes in the kitchen and came back out to the living room.
Lucy smiled as she watched him sit opposite her.
Joshua rubbed his hands together. “How’s the patient?”
“I’m getting better. Olive has been keeping me company.”
“Can I get you some tea or coffee, Joshua?” Olive asked.
“Nee, I just had one at home.”
Olive turned to Lucy. “How about you?”
“Nee.”
Olive sat back down. “You two go ahead and eat, don’t mind me.”
Joshua sprang to his feet. “You’re sure?”
“Jah, of course. Pizza is best fresh and hot.”
Once Joshua was out of the room, Olive leaned toward Lucy. “Can I go now? I feel awkward.”
Lucy shook her head. “Nee, please stay longer.”
Olive rolled her eyes.
Joshua brought the pizza boxes out with three plates. “Go ahead and have a piece, Olive. One’s Italian and the other one is chicken.”
“Well, they do smell good. Perhaps I’ll have just a small piece.”
Joshua passed her a plate then opened the two pizza boxes. “Help yourself.”
Olive leaned forward and took a slice of chicken pizza.
He put two slices of each pizza on Lucy’s plate and passed it to her.
“That’s way too much for me.”
“Nee it’s not. Eat it all so you’ll grow big and strong.”
Lucy frowned playfully at him, and Olive giggled.
After Joshua had eaten a couple pieces, he said, “It’s nearly dark, what do I need to do for the animals?”
“Check on the food for the chickens to see they’ve still got enough. Also, check their water please and the pigs’ water. Bessy likes to make a mess of the water so it might need to be replaced. Then feed them the same amount of food as this morning, not too much, or they will make a mess and they’ll spread it everywhere. Give the horse some hay, too, please, and make sure he has clean water.”
“Will do. That it?”
“Jah.”
Joshua excused himself and went outside.
Olive whispered, “I’ll wait until he comes back then I’ll go.”
“Nee stay.”
“I’m in the way. I can tell he likes you,” Olive whispered.
“Why do you say that?”
“Oh, just the way he talks to you ... and how he looks at you.”
Lucy took a mouthful of pizza and thought while she chewed. Could Olive be right? Olive did not know Joshua very well; Joshua was her bruder's friend and not hers, and even Elijah hadn’t been in contact with Joshua for years.
When they heard Joshua coming back, Olive leaned toward Lucy and whispered, “Don’t forget about Claire’s wedding.”
“I won’t forget,” Lucy whispered back.
Olive turned to face Joshua as he came through the front door. “I’ll go now. Denke for the pizza.”
“You’re welcome,” he said.
Chapter 21
“I’ve got a favor to ask you, Joshua.”
“Jah?”
“Would you go to a wedding with me on Friday?”
“A town meeting tomorrow night and a wedding on Friday? Miss Fuller, you’re taking up a lot of my time.”
Lucy smiled. “It’s one of my friends, Claire, getting married to the Englischer I told you about. I don’t think anyone else in the community is going. It’ll only be me—and you if you’ll take me.”
“Jah, I’ll take you.”
“Have you been to an Englisch wedding before?”
“Two of my friends have gotten married, and I went to their weddings.”
Lucy immediately looked away from him. She shouldn’t have mentioned weddings, which would only make him think of Grace.
“What’s the matter? You’ve suddenly gone quiet and you look pale.”
“Just thinking of Grace.” There, she’d said what they were both thinking. Things were always better when they were out in the open.
“We both miss people who aren’t here anymore, and one day we won’t be here anymore. And there’s not a lot either you or I can do about it.” He wagged his finger at her.
“I know it.” She bit on a fingernail. Yes, she knew it, but sometimes knowing it didn’t help.
“We have to make the most of the life we’ve been given, Lucy. Put the past behind us and keep moving ahead.”
Lucy nodded.
The next night, Joshua sat beside Lucy at the community center and heard how the developers were buying up land in local farming communities, and building shopping centers, suburban clusters and industrial complexes. All of these changes were impacting the pastoral life of the Amish and other Plain Sect farmers. Even traditional Englisch farmers whose land had been passed down through their families. The lifestyle these farmers had passed from generation to generation was slipping away.
Some of the most fertile farming land was now intersected with homes and industry. The farms were getting smaller, forcing many of the farmers to leave the area. Some of the industries were noisy or smelly, negatively impacting neighboring farms, too. And they created heavier traffic, a hazard to horse-and-buggy travelers. A college professor showed projections of what the area would probably be like in ten, and then twenty, and then thirty years. The farmland was going to be depleted. Even Lucy, who was well-informed, was shocked.
Joshua knew he had some big decisions to make.
He had the realization of what would happen to his farm, and how it and the area around it would be ruined if he sold to the wrong people. Joshua also had to face the problem that he was falling in love.
All the things that were said at the community center played over in Joshua’s mind. His land was a considerable acreage and the developers could divide it into many lots, which meant a sizeable amount of money for him. But that would take prime farmland away from the Amish farmers.
As Lucy kept saying, what would things be like twenty, thirty, years from now if farms were continually sold to developers for suburban lots? The Amish would have to divide into smaller groups and more would be forced into occupations other than farming. He could already see the impact just the ten previous years had made on the community. When he’d been a child, most of the Amish people were farmers and they lived mostly off the land. Now, many of the Amish folk had diversified into other businesses, many of them catering to the tourist trade to sell handmade furniture, Amish style food, quilts and handcrafted items.
He could not let Lucy know he’d already had an offer on his land from one of the developers.
Did he care about the future of their farmland? Or would he take Mr. Keaghan's lucrative offer—or one from another of the developers—and continue his life away from the Amish and the memories that caused him pain?
As they walked to his car after the meeting, Joshua said, “Come and take a look at the house, Lucy. I need a woman’s opinion.”
“I’ve seen your haus, Joshua.”
“When was the last time you saw it?”
“It would probably be some months back that Mamm and I visited your mudder.”
She had nothing to do and was limited in what she could do with an arm and a leg out of action. “Nee, I don’t, but could we stop by Julie’s haus? I want to see when she wants me back.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea? The doctor said to rest. I think you should have a good week off at least.”
“I’d just like to visit and see if she and the children are okay. Maybe we could go early before they start school.”
“I’ll pick you up at eight?”
“Perfect.”
When Joshua took Lucy home, she stayed by the door and watched his bright headlights as they traveled back up the darkness of the driveway. She lit a lamp and made her way into the dark kitchen where she flipped the switch of the gas lamp. She pulled out a chair and lowered herself into it. What was she going to do? She was falling in love with Joshua. What if he left the community? He had said on more than one occasion he hadn’t made up his mind.
Lucy made her way up the stairs, her first time with her crutches, slipped into bed with a deep sigh, and it wasn’t long before she was asleep.
Joshua was there very early the next morning to feed the animals. He had said he’d fetch her at eight, but he was already there at seven. Lucy heard his car stop outside the house. She stepped out of her cotton nightdress and pulled her dark green dress over her head, followed by her over-apron. Keeping her sore hand very still she managed to braid her hair and place her prayer kapp on her head. She had no hope of tying the strings, however, so she left them hanging.
She was too scared to go down the steps with her crutches, so she slid the crutches down and then scooted down on her bottom, one step at a time. Once she reached the bottom step, she collected her crutches and pulled herself to her feet. Just as she did so, Joshua opened the door.
“Ah, you’re awake. I was coming in to fix you some breakfast.”
“I was just on my way to do the same. There’ll be some eggs to collect.”
“Gut, I’ll make us omelets.”
Lucy giggled and was glad he hadn’t come inside a few seconds earlier to see her sitting on the steps.
After a breakfast of omelete and toast, Lucy visited Julie before the children were to be at school. The children heard the car and came running out of the house to see who it was. Lucy’s bandaged foot and the cast on her arm fascinated Liam and Tia.
Julie walked over to them.
“Lucy, are you feeling all right?”
“I came to see how you were. I’m fine and I should be back to work on Monday, but I might be a bit slow.” She looked down at her leg.
Julie looked at Joshua, who had just stepped out of the car.
“Julie, this is my friend Joshua. He’s the one who called you.”
Julie and Joshua said hello to each other.
“Can you come inside?” Julie asked.
“No, we won’t hold you up. I just wanted to see if you were okay and ask if you want me to start back Monday.”
“Yes, please. The sooner the better; as long as you’re up to it.”
Once Joshua and Lucy were back in the car, Joshua said, “They are two cute kids.”
“They are. I’ve missed them and I’ve missed Simon and Michael. You remember Simon and Michael?” Lucy spoke of her two younger bruders who were with her parents in Ohio.
Joshua chuckled. “Simon was a baby and Michael was only starting to walk.”
“Shows how long you’ve been gone. They’re ten and nine now.”
“I have been gone a long time.”
After Joshua had shown her around his house, they sat on the porch with coffee and cookies.
“Did you make these cookies yourself?”
“Very funny. You know I didn’t.”
Lucy chuckled. “They look good.” She sank her teeth into a double chocolate cookie. “Mmmm, they are pretty good.”
Joshua looked out across his farm. “I always wondered whether I was adopted.”
“Why?” Lucy frowned.
“Mamm and Dat tried to have kinner before and after me. They had many stillborn bopplis.”
“Jah, I heard that.”
“They insisted I wasn’t adopted. They said I was the blessed one, the one who Gott wanted to stay with them. Then I left Mamm alone. Can you imagine how she felt?”
Lucy took her eyes off him and looked out to the fields. “She would have understood. She was a smart woman. Everyone knew why you left.”
“I could’ve come back; I could’ve visited, but I didn’t.”
“You can’t change the past, Joshua. So there is no use being sad about something you can’t change.”
“I know, I know it, but it doesn’t change things. I don't feel any better for knowing that.”
At that moment, Lucy knew she could not compete with the past. There was no way Joshua could be happy with another woman. Neither did she want to live the rest of her life in the shadow of her sister. It was best she not think of him romantically. “What are you going to do with the land? Are you going to stay and work the farm?”
“I’ve never been a farmer. I didn’t grow up farming like a lot of other children. My parents were older than the parents of other children my age, and from when I was young my parents leased the farm. We kept a small plot of land surrounding the house for horses, chickens and for the vegetables, of course.”
“You can learn.”
“I don’t have the desire. I think I’ll lease it out. I’ll stick with construction; it’s what I’m good at.”
“You’re not going to leave the community, are you?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t decided.”
Chapter 22
“The wedding will be out in the garden as long as the weather stays nice,” Lucy said when Joshua stopped the car outside the B&B for Claire and Donovan’s wedding.
Joshua said, “You lead the way.”
Lucy walked behind the building into the grounds. It was to be a small, low-key wedding with few guests. Lucy and Joshua were offered champagne or orange juice from a silver tray held by a waiter dressed in a white suit.
“Can I leave you here, Joshua? I want to find Claire.”
Joshua nodded. “You go ahead. I’m sure she’ll be pleased to see you.”
Lucy walked into the building and asked the receptionist where Claire was. Lucy was given her room number and then walked down the long hallway and knocked on her door. “Claire?”
Claire opened the door, and delight spread across her face. “Lucy!”
The girls hugged each other.
“I’m so pleased you’re here. The other girls couldn’t come.” Claire looked down at Lucy’s crutches, the cast on her hand and her bandaged foot. “Ach, what have you done?”
“Long story involving falling off my bike. Anyway, I’ve got a broken wrist, and a sprained ankle.” Lucy looked at Claire’s dress. “Your dress is so pretty.”
Claire smoothed her hands down her sleek high-necked dress. “It’s satin and lace.” Claire spun around. “I love how it only just touches the ground. It’s Englisch, but still modest.”
“It’s beautiful.” Lucy had heard none of Claire’s familye would attend the wedding. She desperately wanted to ask if they had changed their minds but dared not in case they hadn’t. “I’m so happy for you, Claire. You look as though you are the happiest woman ever.”
Claire smiled. “I’m happy to have found Donovan. I didn’t like him when I first met him. That first impression I had of him was totally opposite to the person he truly is. He did tell me he had changed.” Claire glanced at the digital clock radio. “Fifteen more minutes, and I’ll be Mrs. Donovan Billings.”
“That’s exciting.” I should tell her now before she sees him. “I’m here with Joshua Hershberger.”
“That was nice of him to bring you. I was sorry I couldn’t go to Mrs. Hershberger’s funeral.”
Lucy nodded. “Jos
hua was kind enough to drive me here. He’s been doing things for me since I hurt my leg because all my familye are at Aunty Becca’s wedding in Ohio.”
Claire sat on the bed. “I miss the news and knowing what’s going on in the community.”
Lucy sat next to her. “Do you think Donovan might join with us like Blake has?”
“I think he might, but it’s going to take some time. Even if he doesn’t, he said we’d never move far from here. We both like it here.”
“That’s gut. All the girls miss you. It’s not the same without you.”
“I know, but I don’t want to get anyone into trouble because you’re not supposed to be too close to Englischers.” Claire smiled and looked down. “That’s why the other girls couldn’t come today.”
“I’m here.”
“Denke, Lucy.”
There was a sharp knock on the door before it opened abruptly. A well-groomed lady poked her head around the door. “Are you ready, Claire?”
“Almost, Mrs. Billings.”
The woman looked Claire up and down, then left without even acknowledging Lucy’s presence.
Lucy looked at Claire. “Who was that?”
Claire whispered, “My mudder-in-law to be.”
“You call her Mrs. Billings?”
“Jah. She hasn’t said to call her anything else.”
Lucy grimaced, and then quickly smiled when she saw the worried look on Claire’s face.
“She approves of the wedding, doesn’t she?” Lucy asked.
“I guess so. She does want grandchildren, and she has been nice to me.”
“As long as you and Donovan are happy, that is all that matters.”
“Lucy, do you think I’m rushing into things?”
Lucy frowned. It was a terrible time to ask her and how would she know about things such as this? “Do you love him?”
“I do, jah I do.”
“And he loves you, and he even said he might join the community, didn’t he?”
Claire nodded. “I just think I’d feel better if my familye were here.”
“Not everything in life happens as we want it to, Claire. We have to hold on to the good and not think too much about the bad.” Lucy’d had to learn that lesson the hard way.
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