[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  “Feel free to eat your lunch inside before you bring mine out to me,” she said. “Other than the folding chair I brought, there’s really nowhere to sit. Besides, it’s warm out today, so you’d probably be more comfortable eating at one of the picnic tables inside.”

  “I’m not worried about the heat or a place to sit, but I’ll be back soon with your lunch.” Titus hurried away.

  When he returned a short time later, he had two hot dogs, a bag of chips, and two bottles of water. “Since you don’t have any customers right now, why don’t we take a seat in there to eat our lunch?” He motioned to his buggy, parked a short distance away.

  She hesitated at first, wondering if she should leave her plants for that long. “I guess I can keep an eye out for customers from there,” she finally said.

  They took seats in his buggy, and when Titus closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer, she poked his arm and said, “Aren’t you going to take off your hat?”

  He frowned. “There’s still a bald spot on the back of my head, and I’m sparing you the misery of looking at it.”

  “I’m sure it doesn’t look that bad.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Titus jerked off his hat and turned his head so she could see the back of it.

  Suzanne suppressed a giggle. He did look pretty silly with a hunk of hair missing.

  “You’re not saying anything.” Titus turned around so he was facing her again. “It looks baremlich, doesn’t it?”

  “It’s not terrible, but I can see why you might want to keep your hat on. Someone could think you’d faced the mirror the wrong way when you shaved this morning.”

  Titus’s lips twitched, and then he leaned his head back and roared. “I like your sense of humor, Suzanne. In fact, the more time I spend with you, the more I like you.”

  She felt the heat of a blush cover her cheeks, but oh, it was nice to hear him say such a thing. “I … uh … like you, too,” she murmured without looking at him. She was afraid if she did, he might be able to tell just how much she actually did care for him.

  “Guess we’d better pray now so we can eat,” Titus said.

  They closed their eyes, and after their prayer, Titus told Suzanne the details about the money he’d found and about getting a reward.

  “That’s great. What are you going to do with it?” she asked.

  “I’ll probably put it in the bank.”

  “That sure was a frightening ordeal you went through,” Suzanne said as they began to eat.

  “It was, and when you showed up at my place, I was afraid for you, too.”

  A flush of heat cascaded over Suzanne’s cheeks once more. It made her feel good to know he’d been concerned about her. Of course, he’d probably have hollered a warning to anyone who’d showed up that day.

  “Did you hear that there’s going to be another singing on Sunday evening?” she asked.

  He drank some of his water and nodded. “I asked Esther if she’d like me to pick her up, but she said she wasn’t planning togo.”

  “Oh? Did she say why?”

  “Nope. Just said she wasn’t going this time.” He blotted his lips with the paper wrapped around the hot dog.

  “Will you go to the singing anyway?”

  He shook his head. “Probably not. Think I’ll stay home and rest.”

  “Oh, I see.” Suzanne hoped the disappointment she felt didn’t show on her face. If neither Esther nor Titus would be at the singing, she guessed she wouldn’t go either.

  Los Angeles, California

  “I’ll be going home at the end of the month,” Darlene told Phoebe as they headed down the beach toward the concession stand.

  Phoebe halted and whirled around to face her friend. “You never mentioned going home for a visit. Is something special going on?”

  Darlene shook her head. “I’m not going for a visit. I’m tired of living here, and I’m going home to stay.”

  Phoebe frowned. “I thought you liked California. It was your idea to come here, you know.”

  “I realize that, but I’ve changed my mind. I miss my family, and living in the English world isn’t as exciting as I thought it would be.”

  Irritation welled in Phoebe’s soul. “How am I supposed to pay the rent on our apartment if you’re gone?”

  “I figured you’d probably go back to Pennsylvania, too.”

  Phoebe shook her head vigorously. “There’s nothing for me there anymore.”

  “What about your folks and the rest of the family?”

  “If I moved back home, they’d be after me to join the church.”

  “Would joining the church be so bad? At one time, you said you were going to join, remember?”

  “Of course I remember, but that was when Titus and I were courting. It’s over between us, and he’s living in Kentucky.” Phoebe started walking again, a little faster this time. “You can go back to the Plain life if you want to, but I’m staying here!”

  CHAPTER 36

  Pembroke, Kentucky

  On Monday morning when Titus entered the woodshop, he hesitated inside the door. It felt good to be back; he’d missed working in the shop, but he was surprised to find Isaac, going over the books. He was even more surprised to see Suzanne crouched on the floor with a piece of sandpaper in her hand, working on a cabinet door.

  “Looks like I’ve been replaced,” he said, kneeling beside her.

  She shook her head. “Not a chance. I’ve only been helping out with some sanding because Nelson was getting behind.”

  “Ah, I see.” Titus still couldn’t get over how easy Suzanne had been to talk to at the produce auction the other day. When he was with Esther, he had to think of things to say. Since he and Esther didn’t have much in common, it was difficult to make conversation.

  Pushing his thoughts aside, Titus turned to Nelson and said, “I’d have been back here sooner, but the doctor said I couldn’t start working again until today.”

  Nelson, who’d been staining some of the cabinets, slowly shook his head. “It’s not a problem. We got along okay, although it’s good to have you back in the shop.”

  “That’s right,” Isaac put in, “and I’m happy to be back at my desk again.”

  “Now that you’re both working here again, Suzanne’s help won’t be needed, and she’ll have more time to do other things,” Nelson added.

  Suzanne abruptly stood. “I guess if I’m not needed here I’ll head up to the house!” Without waiting for anyone’s response, she tossed the piece of sandpaper down and rushed out of the shop.

  Nelson looked at Titus and shrugged. “What can I say? My sister’s been acting kind of strange here of late. But then to me, she’s always seemed a bit strange.”

  Titus couldn’t help but notice how upset Suzanne had looked when Nelson said her help was no longer needed. He wondered if she’d rather be sanding wood than doing household chores.

  He bent to inspect the cabinet door she’d been sanding and was surprised to see what a top-notch job she’d done. It almost seemed like she’d had experience sanding.

  Paradise, Pennsylvania

  “Aren’t you going to do the breakfast dishes?” Abraham asked when Fannie remained at the kitchen table after breakfast was over. “You’ve always washed the dishes right away.” “I’m really tired today. I’ll do them later.” Abraham frowned. “If you’d go to sleep at night instead of lying awake, worrying about Titus, you’d have the energy you need to get things done during the day.” He motioned to the kitchen floor. “Looks like this hasn’t been swept for a few days, and I’m gettin’ low on clean shirts, so I’d appreciate it if you’d wash some clothes today.”

  Fannie yawned. “I’m planning to.”

  “Better not wait too long. I read in the paper that rain’s in the forecast.”

  “Okay.” She yawned again and poured them both a cup of coffee.

  “Ever since we got home from Kentucky, you’ve done nothing but worry and fret.” He touched her shoulder. “You can w
orry yourself silly about Titus, but it won’t change a thing. Just give your worries to God, and let Him take care of our son.”

  She gave a slow nod. “I know you’re right, but it’s hard for me not to think about what those men did to him. With Titus living so far away, I struggle not to be anxious.”

  “I know, but it’s not healthy to worry the way you’ve been doing. You ought to be more like Abby. Sie druwwelt sich wehe nix.”

  “What do you mean she doesn’t worry herself about anything? Everyone worries about something, Abraham.”

  “That may be so, but from what I can tell, she worries less than most, and she doesn’t let things affect her the way you’ve done lately.” He glanced at the battery-operated clock on the wall across the room. “I’d better get out to the fields, or Timothy will wonder what’s happened to me.”

  “Okay. Don’t work too hard, and have a good day.”

  Soon after Abraham left, Abby stopped by. “You look so tired, Mom,” she said. “Haven’t you been sleeping well?”

  Fannie shook her head. “I’ve been worried about Titus, and it’s hard for me to relax. Every time I close my eyes, I see him lying in that hospital bed with a bandage on his head.”

  Abby poured herself some coffee and took a seat in the chair beside Fannie. “Can I give you some advice that someone gave me once when I was worrying about things?”

  “Sure.”

  “When going to bed at night you should empty the pockets of your mind, because if you go to sleep with worries, it’ll drain your energy through the night.”

  “How am I supposed to empty the pockets of worry from my mind?” Fannie questioned.

  “Simply say to yourself, ‘I’m putting these worries into God’s hands,’ and then close your eyes and go to sleep.”

  “I wish it were that simple.” Fannie took a sip of coffee.

  “It can be simple if you remember what God says about worry.” Abby smiled. “In Matthew 6:34 it says: ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.’ And Psalm 55:22 says, ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.’ “ She touched Fannie’s arm and gave it a tender squeeze. “You need to do that, Mom. Hide God’s Word in your heart and dwell on it until you fall asleep at night.”

  The tension Fannie had felt earlier began to disappear. “I know you’re right, and I appreciate those reminders from God’s Word. I do need to remember that our Father’s in control, and that He’s watching over Titus, as well as the rest of our family.”

  “Did you enjoy your time in Kentucky with Titus?” Abby asked.

  “I certainly did. Just wish we could’ve stayed longer. I still miss him, you know.”

  “I’m sure he misses you, too, but it’s good that he’s making a life of his own and is enjoying his job there, don’t you think?”

  “Jah. It seems like Titus is becoming more responsible, too—more like Timothy in that regard.”

  “I just can’t get over how much those two still look alike,” Abby said, taking their conversation in a different direction. “Why, I’ll never forget the time when the twins were bopplin and I got them mixed up while I was giving them a bath. I ended up bathing the same boppli twice.”

  “Their personalities are different, though, and that makes it easy for most people to tell them apart.”

  “I remember once when we got the brilliant idea to tie a ribbon around Titus’s ankle so we’d know it was him. That worked fine until I forgot to remove the ribbon when I bathed him. Of course it got soggy and fell off.” Abby snickered. “Then there was the time that Leona, being just a young girl herself, came over to see the twins and suggested we put a blotch of green paint on Titus’s toe. That worked fine for a while, until the paint wore off.”

  Fannie laughed so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks. It felt good to find a little humor in something. She’d been much too serious lately. “It’s a good thing only one of our twins has moved to Kentucky, because I doubt that anyone there would be able to tell them apart.”

  Pembroke, Kentucky

  Suzanne’s mother had gone to an all-day quilting bee, so it was Suzanne’s job to make lunch for the men today. Along with the sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs she planned to take out to them, she thought it would be nice to make some butterscotch pudding for their dessert. She’d use a box of the instant kind, figuring it wouldn’t be too hard to make.

  Following the directions on the box, she took out a metal bowl, the eggbeater, and some milk. Carefully, she measured the milk into the bowl and added the package of pudding.

  Her nose twitched. “Yum. This sure smells good. I love the aroma of butterscotch.”

  When Suzanne placed the beater inside and started turning the handle, the bowl slid across the counter, and some of the pudding splashed out.

  “This isn’t working out so well,” she mumbled, blotting the counter with some paper towels. She’d seen Mom use the eggbeater before, and the bowl had never slid around for her like that.

  Suzanne pushed the bowl against her waist and started beating again. Whoosh!—the bowl slipped off the counter and fell on the floor, spilling pudding on her dress, down the cabinet, and onto the floor, where it seeped under the cabinet.

  “That’s just great,” she fumed. Not only was the pudding ruined, but she’d have to clean the floor and would need to change her dress.

  Suzanne wet the mop under the faucet and started with the floor. When that chore was done, she went up to her room to change.

  Several minutes later, she returned to the kitchen, put the sandwiches in a plastic container, took the eggs she’d boiled earlier from the refrigerator, and grabbed a handful of cookies Mom had made yesterday. Then she placed everything in the lunch basket, picked up a jug of iced tea, and headed out the door.

  When Suzanne entered the woodshop, Grandpa tipped his head and stared at her strangely. “Weren’t you wearing a green dress earlier?”

  “You’re right. I was.”

  “Mind if I ask why you’re wearing a blue dress now?”

  “I had a little accident in the kitchen.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Nelson said, rolling his eyes.

  “Here’s your lunch!” Suzanne placed the basket and jug of iced tea on the workbench with a huff.

  “What’d you bring us?” Titus asked.

  “Ham and cheese sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, and chocolate chip cookies.”

  He grinned. “Sounds good.”

  Suzanne waited until the men had said their silent prayer. She was about to leave, when Titus picked up an egg and cracked it on his forehead. Whoosh!—runny egg spilled out of the shell, ran down his face, and dripped onto his shirt.

  “Oh no!” Suzanne grabbed the roll of paper towels near the sink and handed it to Titus. “I’m so sorry.”

  Nelson slapped his leg and chuckled. “I’ve heard that raw eggs are supposed to be good for a person’s hair, so maybe that runny egg will grow the missing hair back on your head,” he said to Titus.

  Titus mumbled something under his breath as he wiped the egg off his face; then he turned to Suzanne and said, “Did you give us raw eggs on purpose?”

  “No, of course not. I really thought they were hard-boiled. I must have grabbed raw eggs by mistake, thinking they were the ones I’d boiled earlier.”

  “What made you crack that egg on your forehead?” Nelson asked. “Were you just abweise?”

  “I was not showing off. I’ve always cracked eggs that way.” Titus looked at Suzanne. “At least the ones I don’t think are raw.”

  Suzanne was so embarrassed, she just wanted to hide. I’ll never get Titus’s attention in a positive way if I keep messing up and making myself look bad in his eyes.

  Without waiting for the men to finish their lunch, she turned and rushed out the door.

  CHAPTER 37

  Los Angeles, California

  Phoebe frowned as she stared at her meager breakfast—an
overripe banana and a glass of water. It had been four weeks since Darlene had gone home, and Phoebe had been forced to take a second job during the evening at a convenience store in order to pay the rent on the apartment she’d shared with Darlene. The cost of living was much higher in California than it had been back home, and Phoebe’s money was so tight that she’d had to cut back on everything and barely had enough to eat. Another frustration was that she didn’t have any free time to do fun things such as going to the beach, shopping, or out to lunch. The few friends she’d made while living here all had steady boyfriends, so they couldn’t be bothered with her anymore.