“I can just see two sides of a thing. I know you were doing what you thought to be right at the time. That’s all a person can do.”
Wilma nodded and looked down at the floorboards.
“Tell me this, when she knocked on the door was she pregnant?”
“She would’ve had the boppli by then, and she came alone. I didn’t ask her anything, I was scared. I just told her to go.”
While Wilma talked more about feeling awful for not helping her sister when she was in trouble, Florence tried to put the pieces together. Was Carter some kind of a relative of this man, or was the thing with the same last name just a coincidence?
Florence was also certain her stepmother had told her a slightly different story when she’d first told about her sister, Iris. Wilma had told her that Iris wanted to marry a man but her parents thought they were too young, so she left the community heartbroken. The Amish man she’d wanted to marry had married someone else and Iris fell in with a wrong crowd and got pregnant. Florence distinctly remembered it. She stared at Mamm and wondered which version was closer to the true story.
“Florence, did you hear anything of what I just said?”
She didn’t want to upset Wilma. “I’m sorry, I didn’t. I’m surprised over the letter, that’s all. So, none of those things in the wooden box are my mudder’s?”
“Nee. That’s my schweschder’s box.”
Florence nodded. “Oh, I didn’t tell you. I found three letters in a different box. One for me, one for Mark, and one for Earl. They were from my mudder. Our mudder.”
“Is that right?”
“Jah. Dat was supposed to give them to us. He had a good memory for some things and not with others.” Florence giggled.
“Anything to do with trees, apples or the harvest, he wasn’t forgetful.”
“I know. I’m glad we had this talk.”
“Me too, Florence. We should’ve talked about it at the time.”
“We should’ve.” Florence figured Mamm might not have remembered all the details over Iris. She couldn’t imagine that Wilma would’ve lied to her on purpose.
Chapter 24
The very next day after breakfast, Christina arrived to collect her kapps. She was nice and also grateful to everyone for their help, but said she couldn’t stay long because she was in a rush.
The moment she left, Joy tugged on Florence’s sleeve as they were walking back into the house after waving to Christina. “Can I speak to you for a moment, Florence?”
Florence loved it when her siblings singled her out to have a talk. “Of course you can." She immediately saw from Joy's pouting bottom lip that she was upset about something. “What’s upset you?”
“It’s Isaac.”
“Really? I thought you both got along really well. Has he done something to upset you?”
“Nee, he hasn’t done anything to upset me, it's more about him having done nothing.”
“In what way?”
“I’m just not sure how he feels about me.”
Florence couldn’t stop smiling when she thought about Isaac’s face when he was around Joy. “Everyone can see he’s in love with you.”
“That’s what I thought too, but he’s never said it.”
“Does he have to say it in words? Can’t he show it to you in other ways? Can’t you see it in his smile? I can.”
Joy sighed. “I’m not in a rush to get married like some other people we know, but I just want to know that he’ll be the one I’ll be marrying, later on, and at the right time.”
“If you both want the same things, then, it’ll happen. Don’t worry so much.”
“That’s easy to say, but not so easy to do. I’ve tried not to worry about it.”
“Do you have a need to hear the exact words, I love you?”
“I guess I do. It’s not that, so much. I just want some sort of a commitment that we will be having a life with each other—together. When we first started seeing more of one another, he said things then about our future as if we’d be married and have a family, but since Honor’s wedding, he hasn’t said anything. I’m worried that he’s not so sure about me now. He gets frustrated with me sometimes. I just thought that was normal. Everyone gets like that with me.”
“I seriously think you’re worried over nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. It’s how I feel, and the thing is, I don’t know what to do about it.”
Florence giggled.
“What’s funny?”
“It is funny that you come to me for advice. Do you see me happily married with a family?”
“Nee, I don’t, but you are the most sensible person I know. You might have made mistakes in the past and you might do things differently now if you had the chance.”
Florence raised her eyebrows. “I hope I do have another chance at love, but the sad thing is I don’t know where I went wrong. As far as I knew things between me and Ezekiel were fine and then all of a sudden, he didn’t want me to visit him. I’ve never heard from him since.”
“I’m so sorry, Florence.”
“It’s okay. When I was about your age, I liked a few young men but they didn’t give me a second look.”
“That was their loss.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
“I don’t know why they passed you over. You would’ve been pretty back then when you were young.”
Florence smiled at the compliment Joy was trying to give her. That described exactly how she felt —old and passed over, except when Carter was around. When she was with him, she felt like the most beautiful, loved, and cared for woman in the world.
“I know you’re not that old yet. You’re not as old as Mamm, but you’re well on your way there. What advice can you give me?”
“Well, if I can give you any advice at all …” She thought about it for a moment. “Nee, I can’t think of one piece of advice to give you. You’re sensible enough to figure things out for yourself.”
“I tried some hinting to make him say how he felt last night, but he didn’t take any of them.”
“What kind of hints?”
“I was talking about Mercy having a boppli and starting her family and asking him what he thought about that.”
“Oh, and he didn’t know you were hinting?”
“I didn’t want him to know I was hinting.”
“You’re better at this than I am.”
“Oh, Florence, I know you have the answer somewhere deep in your head. If you were to give me one piece of advice, what would it be?”
“Isaac likes his food, so why don’t you keep cooking for him?” It was lame, but she knew no other advice to give her.
“I cook for him all the time and he knows I’m a good cook already.”
“Why don’t you take him out one day for a picnic? On a Saturday afternoon and then it will be just the two of you in a deserted field somewhere. Under a tree or by the water—somewhere you can both relax and be yourselves.”
“That’s a great idea. We’ve never been on a picnic together. And he does love his food.” She leaned forward and gave Florence a kiss. “See, I knew you’d have the answer. A picnic is the answer.” Joy turned and raced upstairs.
Florence wished her own problems could be solved with a picnic. All the time she was worried about her sisters marrying too young, but at least they all sought men in the Amish faith and hadn’t gone looking outside the community for love.
Chapter 25
When Mercy went home, everyone was upset. Joy decided to concentrate on Isaac to help her get over Mercy leaving. Joy had taken Florence’s advice and the next day that Isaac had a scheduled day off, they went on a picnic.
He collected her in his buggy, and when they turned onto the road, Joy tried to set a romantic mood. “Don’t you just love the summer, when it's warm on a Saturday afternoon?”
“I do, when I’m not working.”
“Well, you’re not working today.”
“Nee, I’m not.”
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She directed him to a grassy park she knew about and as they neared it, he asked, “What is the occasion of this picnic? You still haven’t told me.”
“Can’t we just go on a nice picnic together just the two of us?”
“Sure.”
“Then we can be alone and talk about things that we never get to talk about when we are surrounded by people.”
He pulled up the buggy and then she ran to the back and got out the blanket and the basket.
When he had secured the horse, he came around to her.
Without her saying anything he took the basket and the blanket from her. “Where shall we go?”
“Anywhere you want.”
He opened the blanket in the middle of the park. “It certainly is isolated around here.”
“It’s not. You’re here and so that means it’s not very isolated.”
Once he had spread the blanket and set the basket in the middle, she sat down, opened the basket and handed him the cider with two glasses. “You pour,” she ordered.
He sat down and poured out two glasses while she spread the food out.
“So, what’s this all about?” He handed her a glass.
“Nothing.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
He was making her nervous. “I thought it would be a romantic thing to do—to go for a picnic.”
“It is, I guess—but it wouldn’t be if you've brought me out here to break up with me.” He drank a mouthful of cider.
“No, never.”
He put his hand to his heart and looked relieved, giving a little chuckle.
She gasped. “Is that what you thought?”
“Jah, I did. Now I can relax.” He looked down at the food. “This looks great.”
She passed him a plate of fried chicken and he took a piece. As he ate it, he kept looking at the rest of the food. He seemed more interested in it than in her.
Perhaps it might have been a mistake to put so much effort into the food.
“You’re a good cook, Joy.”
“I have been told that.”
“Jah, by me.”
“And other people.”
“Are you sure you didn’t bring me here to break up with me? And now you’re only staying with me because you feel sorry for me?”
“Stop it. I have no intention of ever breaking up with you, don’t you see that?”
“For real?”
“Jah. What happened to the confident Isaac that I first met?”
“That was before I liked you and now you make me nervous.”
Joy giggled. “Do I?”
“You sure do.”
“How do I make you nervous?”
He’d just bitten off half of the chicken meat on a drumstick, and she had to wait for him to chew and swallow his mouthful. Meanwhile, she took a sip of apple cider.
“Because you’re just special, you know so much about everything. You make me want to be a better person. And I’ve been reading my Bible a lot more because you do. It’s a good habit to get into.”
“I like reading it.”
“That’s good.”
“So where do we go from here? What do you think our future holds?”
“Good things.” He finished off the rest of the chicken.
“Such as?”
“Doesn’t the word tell us not to worry about tomorrow and live for the day? Why worry about tomorrow? The lilies of the field don’t worry about tomorrow and they are beautifully clothed.” He looked up into the sky as a bird flew past. "And the birds of the field don’t gather but they have food to eat every day.”
He looked pleased with himself, but he was missing her point and she had to know if he intended to marry her one day. “But we won’t be worried about tomorrow if we plan for it.”
“Somethings can’t be planned for. I didn’t plan to stay on here when I came to Mercy’s wedding and I did. I’m pleased I stayed.”
There was a spark of hope. “You stayed on for me?”
“Sure, and everyone knows it too.”
She recalled that Christina mentioned something like that to her. If everybody knew it, then maybe he assumed that they had a future together. But why didn’t he just say it? “So, you and I have a future together?”
“Who knows what the future can bring, Joy? We will have a future together if God wills it.”
There was no use. She didn’t know any other way to ask him whether he intended to marry her and she wasn’t going to come straight out and ask him. She grabbed a roll, broke it in half and chomped on it trying to be satisfied with the answers he had given.
* * *
After the Sunday meeting the very next day, Joy was in her bedroom crying because Isaac didn’t stay for the singing like he’d done nearly every Sunday afternoon. Neither did he come to her house. He made some excuse that he had to do something and that was all. It was so out of character for him that she was sure she’d gone too far at the picnic. She’d scared him off.
She decided to come home with Florence and Mamm, who never stayed for the young people’s singing.
It was a shock when she looked out her bedroom window and saw his buggy at around four in the afternoon. She hurried downstairs to meet him.
When he saw her walking to the buggy, he said, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“For me?” Was it flowers, at long last? “What is it?”
“Come with me.”
“I can’t, I’ve got to help with the dinner.”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
“Oh. Where do you want me to go?”
“Stay there and close your eyes.” He took her by her hand. “Keep your eyes closed.”
“They are.”
“Keep them closed. We’re just going a couple of more steps. Stay there,” he ordered as he dropped her hand.
She was so tempted to peek, but she didn’t. “Why, what is it?”
“If you be quiet, you’ll soon see.”
“Okay, but it’s not easy for me to be quiet.”
“I know that much.”
She laughed and stopped when she heard him open the buggy doors and then she heard some scratching noises.
“Open your eyes,” he ordered.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a ball of golden fur on the buggy floor. She let out a squeal. “He’s the cutest ever.” It was a small puppy.
“He’s yours.”
“Mine?”
“Jah. I even cleared it with Wilma.”
“Mamm agreed? What? Can I keep him?”
“Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. I plan to keep in good with your mudder.”
“Can I hold him?”
“He’s yours.” He placed the dog in her arms and she hugged him to herself.
“I can’t believe it, I just can’t believe it.”
“He’s a boy.” Isaac chuckled. “Is that better than a bunch of roses?”
“Much better, so much better. Much better and better and bestest.” She giggled. “How did you know I wanted a dog of my very own?”
He laughed. “I didn’t. I’m glad to hear that you do.”
“Who wouldn’t love a puppy? Oh, I do love him.” The puppy lay there with large brown eyes looking at them both, then he put his face up to Joy’s and licked her chin causing her to giggle. “I’ve never had a dog before. Cherish had one because she was spoiled and she got everything she wanted. Now I’ve got one. I just can’t believe it.”
“Well, you better believe it because he’s yours. I’m here to spoil you now.”
“Denke so much. This is the best thing ever. It’s the best thing anyone has ever done for me. I don’t know what to say. Where did you get him from?”
“I got him from the shelter. Someone found him and his brothers. They’d been dumped. There were three of them. By the time I got to the shelter, he was the last one.”
“Denke.”
“You can stop thanki
ng me now.” He chuckled.
“I don’t think I’ll ever stop thanking you, he’s so adorable.”
He laughed. “He is pretty cute, isn’t he?”
“Sure is. When the girls get home from the singing, they won’t be able to believe it.” She started walking off toward the house.
“Wait up. I’ve got food and things for him.”
She waited with him while he gathered the dog’s things. He had bought food, wormer, a few toys, and a dog bed. “You thought of everything.”
“They told me what he’d need, and oh, he’s already had the necessary shots, and he's been neutered.”
“I didn’t think he’d be old enough.”
“He is. He’s been at the shelter awhile.”
She hugged the pup. “Oh, the poor little puppy.”
“Not any more. Looks like he’s going to have a great home now.”
“He will for sure.” They walked to the house together. “I’ll have to think of a good name.”
Chapter 26
Florence had waited days to work up the courage to see Carter again. Today was the day. Just when she walked out of the house, she saw a horse and buggy approaching. She’d greet the visitor and leave them with Mamm. That was her plan until she saw who was driving the buggy.
Ezekiel Troyer!
She walked over to him when he pulled up.
“Ezekiel, this is a surprise.”
He got out of the buggy, took off his hat and held it close to his chest. “Can we talk somewhere Florence? Alone?”
She glanced over at the house. No one was about. “How about we talk on the porch?”
He slowly nodded.
“How is your family?” she asked as they walked.
“They’re well.”
They walked up the two wooden porch steps. “What brings you back here?”
“You bring me here, Florence. You bring me back.”
She stared at him trying to take in his words, then she sat down on one of the porch chairs and he sat down on the other.
“I was a fool not to ask you to marry me the very first time I met you. I know I’ll never meet another woman as good as you, Florence. You’re wunderbaar.”
Amish Joy (The Amish Bonnet Sisters Book 4) Page 9
