by Amy Clipston
But she wasn’t just pretty. She was kind and thoughtful. She was easy to talk to, and she already seemed like a dear friend. He felt a closer connection with her than he ever had with Ella, and they’d planned to marry. Christiana was different, and she was special. She wasn’t afraid of speaking her mind or following her dreams. She was courageous and strong willed.
She smiled, and he admired her striking eyes and the riot of freckles on her nose. How he longed to see more of that bright-red hair peeking out from under her prayer covering. She was beautiful, and she was smiling at him.
He forced a swallow as his throat thickened. He couldn’t allow himself to fall for another beautiful woman who would change her mind after he’d given her a piece of his heart. If he had failed with Ella, why wouldn’t he fail with Christiana?
Her smile faded, and she tilted her head. “Are you okay?”
“Ya.” He reached into his pocket and fingered the gift he’d made for her last night. A gift for a friend. “I have something for you.”
“You do?” Her eyes sparkled. “What is it?”
“You might think it’s gegisch.”
“I’m sure I won’t.” She rubbed her hands together. “I love surprises. What is it?”
“Hold out your hand and close your eyes.”
“Okay.” She followed his instructions.
He pulled out the wooden key chain that said Christy, and then he set it in her hand, closing her fingers around it. He allowed his fingers to linger against hers for a moment, enjoying the warm feel of her soft skin. Then he pulled his hand away.
With her eyes closed, she moved her fingers over the wood. “May I look now?”
“Ya.” He chewed his lower lip, hoping she’d approve of the gift.
Her eyelids flipped open, and her pretty pink lips turned up in a wide smile. “You made me a key chain.” She looked over at him and laughed. “It’s wunderbaar.”
“You like it?”
“Ya, I do!” She laughed again and turned it over in her hand. “Christy.”
“I thought if I made one that said Christiana it might not fit into your pocket.”
She laughed again. “Danki so much.” She reached across the table and squeezed his hand, but then her smile flattened into a thin line. “I’m sorry for being so terrible to you.”
He felt his brow pinch. “What do you mean?”
Christiana sighed. “I realize now that I haven’t been fair to you. You’ve tried to be nice to me, and I was so determined for you to apologize that I rejected you. You deserved better.”
Jeff stared at her, speechless.
“Leanna told me she was sure you were trying to apologize and that some people have trouble saying the words I’m sorry. She said her late husband was like that and Chester is too. Bethany said I was being too hard on you, and Salina said I overreacted the day you were upset about the line blocking your booth.”
She stared down at the key chain. “Mei mamm also said you were just frustrated and didn’t mean to lose your temper. They all were right. I was being stubborn, determined that you had to apologize before I would be freinden with you again. And I definitely misjudged you. I have a bad habit of making snap judgments about people, and it’s not right. I’m sorry.”
Jeff was overwhelmed as he listened to her. She’d talked about him to her cousins and her mother. Maybe that meant she did care about him.
“You’re not answering me, so I guess you agree.” She looked up at him, a sheepish expression on her face.
“I’m just surprised. I was certain you didn’t even like me after the way I lost my temper.”
“Like I said, I was hurt, and I wanted to hear you say you were sorry, but I never gave up on you completely.”
“I’m glad.” I’m relieved.
They ate for a few moments as an amicable silence fell over them. Jeff breathed in the warm June air and the sweet smell of the grass. The sun heated the back of his neck as a butterfly fluttered past their table. Birds sang happily in the nearby tall oak trees.
When they had finished eating, Christiana pulled out a ziplock bag filled with macadamia nut cookies and handed them to him.
“Your dessert.” She smiled. “And you don’t have to share them with your family.”
“Danki.” His heart warmed. “My favorite.” He opened the bag and handed her one.
“Danki.” She took a bite and then seemed to study him. “Remember the first day we met and I dumped the kaffi on you?”
“How could I forget?” he said, joking.
“Right.” She shook her head and her cheeks flushed bright pink. She was adorable! “You mentioned you were already having a bad day. Why was it so bad?”
He shifted in his seat as panic gripped him. He wasn’t ready to tell Christiana about Ella, and he might never be ready.
“It was just a bad day.” He tried to shrug it off, but her bright, intelligent eyes seemed to assess him.
“Sometimes you seem so bedauerlich.” Christiana leaned forward, and now kindness and concern seemed to shine from her eyes. “Why is that?”
Jeff wanted to run and hide from her direct questions. They made his skin itch. She was too intuitive, too sweet.
“I think it’s time for us to get back.” He shoved his lunch bag into a nearby trash can. “We don’t want to lose customers because we’re away too long.”
“Right.” She nodded but seemed unconvinced. He was certain she could see right through his facade.
They cleaned up the table and then walked back into the market.
“Danki for having lunch with me,” he said when they’d reached their booths.
“I had a great time.” She held up her key chain. “And danki again for mei wunderbaar gift.”
“Gern gschehne, Christy.” He liked the sound of her nickname. Would she allow him to keep calling her that? Would it be his special name for her?
What was he thinking? He didn’t want to get too attached to Christiana, even if he did feel his attraction to her deepening as she grinned at him.
“I’ll talk to you later, okay?” she asked.
“I look forward to it.” As he stepped into his booth, happiness surged through him despite his fears. No, he wouldn’t risk his heart again, but he was still grateful she’d given their friendship another chance.
* * *
The afternoon flew by for Christiana as she helped a constant stream of customers and contemplated her lunch with Jeff. She kept the key chain he’d made for her in the pocket of her apron and stroked it periodically. She smiled when she recalled how he’d called her Christy. He felt like a friend, a true friend, and she wanted to get to know him better. She’d tried to get him to share more about himself, but he seemed to shy away from telling her. She couldn’t ignore the sadness in his eyes, and she yearned to know why he was so unhappy. How could she get him to trust her with those secrets that seemed to be buried so deep?
Salina stepped into the booth at closing time. “How was your day?”
“Busy again.” Christiana moved her piles of bills from the counter to her money bag as Daisy sat beside the cash register. “I think it’s going to stay like this. As you can see, I need to bring a lot more baked goods tomorrow.”
“But you do have a helper.” Salina gestured at the cat, who blinked up at her.
“Ya, I do.” Christiana laughed.
“It looked like you had an interesting lunch today,” Leanna said as she walked up to the counter with Bethany close behind her.
Bethany divided a look between Leanna and Christiana. “What did I miss?”
Christiana shrugged and zipped the money bag shut. “I just had lunch with Jeff.”
“Oh ya?” Bethany walked up to the counter. “Tell us more.”
“We took our lunches out to one of the picnic tables and talked. It was nice.” Christiana reached into her apron pocket and touched the gift he gave her.
“What made you get past your hurt?” Leanna asked.
“What did you talk about?” Salina sidled up to her.
“We talked about our families and things like that. We were just getting to know each other.” Christiana jotted one more note about what fresh baked goods to bring tomorrow. “He’s a really gut guy.”
“So you finally admit that you like Jeff?” Bethany said, prodding.
Christiana held up both hands and looked each of her cousins in the eye. “Let’s all slow down. Right now, Jeff and I are freinden. I’d like to just take my time and get to know him.” And find out why he’s so sad. “I need you all to respect that and not tease me or make comments, okay?”
“Ya, of course,” Bethany said.
“I understand,” Leanna added.
“Great.” Christiana hefted her tote bags onto one of the racks. “I need to get going. My ride is probably already waiting for me. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” She pointed toward the aisle.
Bethany and Leanna said good night before heading out of the booth.
Christiana gave Daisy a good-night head rub and then started to push the two racks. Salina grabbed her arm and yanked her back, causing her to stumble. “Hey.”
“Your ride can wait a minute. Tell me what you’re not telling Leanna and Bethany.” Salina wagged an accusatory finger at her. “I can tell when you’re holding back.”
Christiana hesitated, and then she fished the key chain from her apron pocket. “He gave me this.”
“Christy?” Salina grinned as she took the key chain. “How adorable.”
“I know. I love it.” Christiana was sure she was beaming. “He said if he’d made one that said Christiana, it wouldn’t have fit in my pocket.”
Salina laughed as she handed the key chain back to her. “You really like him.”
“Ya, I think I do.” Christiana studied the key chain. “But I want to get to know him better. I don’t want to rush into anything.”
“Right.” Salina nodded. “I’m glad you two finally talked. I can tell how much better you feel now that he’s apologized.”
She touched Salina’s arm. “But I mean it when I say I want to take it slow. I don’t want to get ahead of myself and get too attached before I truly know him.”
“That makes sense.” Salina squeezed her hand. “Have a gut night.”
“You too.”
* * *
“So he invited you to lunch and also gave you a gift.” Mamm beamed as she scrubbed another pan. “How generous.”
“I thought so too.” Christiana picked up a dish from the drainboard and dried it with her towel. “I think I’m going to invite him to lunch tomorrow. I’ll pack a picnic basket.” She began a mental list of what she’d take—lunch meat, rolls, macadamia nut cookies . . .
“I’m just glad he finally apologized,” Phoebe announced as she swept the floor. “I didn’t like how he spoke to you when he complained about the customer line. He was rude, and you didn’t deserve it.”
Christiana smiled at her younger sister. “I appreciate how you defend me, but I lost my temper too. And I misjudged him. I wasn’t innocent.”
Phoebe stopped sweeping. “Ya, but he started it. He provoked you. Remember that.”
“Maybe so, but it’s time to move on.” Christiana turned to her mother as Phoebe resumed her task.
“What does his dat do?” Mamm asked.
“He’s a dairy farmer. His younger bruder works on the farm when Jeff is at the market just like Phoebe works here when I’m there. Jeff has his own haus on the farm.”
“Who’s Jeff?”
Christiana spun to find her father standing in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the family room. “He’s mei freind from the market.”
Dat studied her for a moment while fingering his light-brown beard. “You can’t date him until I meet him.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to date him,” Christiana said. “I’m just getting to know him.”
“Just remember that he has to ask for my permission.” Dat wagged a finger at her. “You have to follow the rules, or you’ll be back here selling your baked goods at the roadside again.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“Gut.” Then he disappeared through the mudroom, and the screen door clicked shut.
“Never mind your dat.” Mamm patted her arm. “I know you won’t do anything behind our backs.”
“Right, Mamm.” Christiana sighed. What she didn’t tell her family was how much Jeff intrigued her. Still, she needed to know more about him before she’d even consider dating him. She just had to figure out how to inspire Jeff to open up.
12
“Gude mariye.” Christiana stepped into Jeff’s booth the following morning and found him working in the back, his burnishing machine humming.
As she crossed the worn, creaky oak floor, the burning smell of the machine filled her lungs and caused her to take a deep breath. She cleared her throat.
He looked up at her and then turned off his machine. “Hi. Wie geht’s?”
“I’m well.” She smiled and looked at the pieces of leather on his workbench. “What are you making?”
He picked up a wallet and handed it to her. “What do you think of this?”
“It’s beautiful.” She turned it over in her hand and then ran her fingers over the three letters in the corner. “A-B-C?” She looked at him. “What does that mean?”
“They represent initials. I’ve been trying to think of something I can create to boost my sales, and last night it hit me. My customers seem to like personalized items the best, and I also sell a fair number of wallets. So wouldn’t they buy wallets with initials? I could take special orders.”
She grinned. “Wow. That’s brilliant!”
“You think so?” She found his hesitant expression endearing.
“Ya, I do. I’m sure they’ll boost your sales.”
“Danki.” He set the completed wallet on the workbench. “What brings you over this morning?”
“I was wondering if you want to have lunch again today. I packed a picnic basket with enough food for two.”
“Really?” His expression was warm and genuine. “That would be wunderbaar. What time would you like to meet?”
“How about one thirty like yesterday?”
“Perfect.”
She pulled her key chain from her pocket and jingled the keys she’d added to it last night.
He smiled. “So you like it?”
“I do. It’s perfect.”
“I’m glad to hear it, Christy.” He winked at her, and her insides did a little dance. “I’m glad it’s useful.”
She gave him a wave. “I’ll see you at one thirty.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
* * *
“I couldn’t decide what kind of lunch meat to bring, so I brought a little of everything.” She pulled out small ziplock sandwich bags as they sat at the same picnic table they’d chosen the day before. “I have turkey, ham, and roast beef.” Then she pulled out more ziplock bags. “I baked bread, but I wasn’t sure which kind you’d like, so I made a variety. I have wheat, white, and rolls.”
He grinned. “You’re amazing.”
“I have cheeses too. Cheddar, American, and provolone.”
“Wow. This is too much. The bread looks appeditlich. Actually, everything does.” He shook his head. “I’ll take roast beef and provolone on a roll.”
“Coming up.” She started building his sandwich, and he watched in awe.
“Has your booth been busy?” she asked.
“It has.” He smiled because the words felt so good to say. “Two customers were interested in my personalized wallets. Plus, I took two custom orders for signs. The wallets and signs need to be ready by noon tomorrow, so I might have to stay late tonight.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.”
“Not really.” He shrugged. “I don’t mind staying late for a sale.”
“What will the signs say?”
“They’re wedding anniversary gifts for the woman’s kinner. Each one will have their last name and then the date her sons were married. So it will say Reynolds 2015 or something like that. The wallets are also wedding anniversary gifts that two women ordered for their husbands. They’ll have the husbands’ initials on them.”
“Those are thoughtful gifts.” Christiana held out the sandwich. “Here you go.”
“Danki.” He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. “This is appeditlich, Christy.”
“I have chips too.” She pulled a bag of chips from her basket and handed it to him.
He opened it and took a handful. “Danki.”
“Gern gschehne.” She began making a sandwich for herself—turkey and cheddar. “Tell me more about your grossdaadi—the one who taught you how to work with wood and leather.”
“Oh.” He was surprised by the request. “Well, he was a dairy farmer like mei dat, and he had a little shop in the back of his barn where he tinkered with leather and wood. But he didn’t sell what he made. That was just his hobby. He enjoyed unwinding in his workshop after a long day on the farm, like I do now.”
“What did he do with the items he made?”
“He’d give them to the grandchildren or the neighborhood kids who stopped in to see the cows.” Jeff smiled as visions of his grandfather filled his mind. He recalled his booming laugh, his wide smile, and his warm demeanor.
She leaned forward. “What’s that smile for?”
“I hadn’t thought about that in a long time. It’s a nice trip down memory lane.” His gaze tangled with hers, and then something passed between them—something warm and familiar and comforting.
Friendship? Or something more?
The last thought caught him off guard, and he bit back a trembling gasp.
“How long ago did he pass away?” Christiana asked, seeming oblivious to his inner confusion.
“Six years ago,” Jeff said.
“I’m so sorry. It’s difficult to say good-bye to a loved one, especially one who’s had such an impact on your life.” She shook her head and took another bite of her sandwich.
