“Mm. I can see that.” He went to take a plate and she quickly snatched it from him and started filling it with food.
“I’ll do that. I don’t want you to lift a finger.”
“Denke.”
“How has your day been so far?
“Very busy. It’s usually hectic around here. Aren’t you working today?”
“Nee. I’ve got the day off.”
“That was very kind of you to make all this, and now you’ve wasted your day off on me.”
“It’s not wasted. I wanted to do this. Wasn’t it a nice surprise?”
“A huge surprise.” He scratched his forehead. “Why do all this for me, though?”
She looked across at him just as she was piling chicken on his plate. “You work so hard, you deserve a good meal.”
“That’s enough chicken, denke.” He took the plate from her and placed it in front of him. “The boys and I usually go up the road to the coffee shop for lunch.”
“I know, I saw you all there once. You probably don’t remember.”
He didn’t.
“Eat. Don’t wait for me,” she said.
He cut a piece of chicken and then glanced over at her to see that she was looking pleased with herself. It was a lovely gesture she’d made. “You put a lot of effort into this. I appreciate it.” He popped the chicken into his mouth.
She fluttered her lashes at him. “You’re worth it.”
He nearly choked as he swallowed.
“Have some water.” She passed him a glass. “Or, maybe I should’ve got wine.”
“Definitely not wine. Not while I’m working.”
“Ach, jah. That’s right, but since you work for your vadder, maybe you could take the rest of the day off so we can do something?”
He shook his head. It was a dreadful idea, and her perception was all wrong. The fact that he worked for his family meant he had to work harder to prove himself, not take time off whenever he felt like it. “It’s because I work for my vadder that I can’t. I’m the main one in the workshop now that Levi is doing the quotes and ordering with Isaac.”
“What do you have to order? Don’t you make all the kitchens here?”
“Jah, we do, but there’s hinges and handles and so forth, we don’t make them. Then some of them are bits and pieces, and, for the more unusual work, we make all the special orders. Most everything we do is custom made.” He knew he probably wasn’t making much sense, but he’d never been good with words. That’s one of the reasons he didn’t deal directly with the customers.
“Well, surely there wouldn’t be many of those and wouldn’t you already have a stock of hinges and handles?”
He nodded. “Some.” He kept eating, hoping she wouldn’t ask again for him to take the day off. How would he let her down gently? He didn’t want to hurt her feelings especially when she’d gone out on a limb to do this. It was the most awkward he’d felt in his life.
“Are you enjoying the food?”
“It’s wunderbaar. Much better than the food from the café.”
“We’ll have to do this again.”
He couldn’t let it go on without saying something. He swallowed hard. “Look, Mary Lou, I’m very flattered that you’ve done all this just for me. The thing is, you deserve someone much better than a simple man like me.”
“Don’t be silly, Joshua. You’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever met.”
How could what she said be true when she’d also liked his two older brothers? He stared at her, hoping he could put the right words together to honestly convey his feelings while at the same time sparing hers. “There is a significant age difference between us.”
“Oh, Joshua. That’s so sweet.” She fluttered her long eyelashes at him once more. “I don’t mind that you’re younger.”
Joshua looked down at his water, now wishing it was wine. He could do with a stronger drink right now. The girl just wasn’t taking a hint. He tried again. “We don’t have anything in common.”
“We are both … in the same community.”
“And?” he asked.
Now she looked hurt. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He didn’t either; he was clutching at straws.
Then a smile broke out on her face. “It doesn’t matter. Men and women don’t have to have anything in common. I know what the problem is, you’ve never had a girlfriend, have you?”
“It’s true, I haven’t. Nothing serious anyway.”
Her face beamed. “That’s why you don’t know how things work.”
He shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I do know how things work.”
“You’re not eating much.”
He ate some more chicken. If he said what was really on his mind, she’d run off crying. He figured the best thing to do was eat the lunch and tell her another day that he wasn’t interested in her. Mary Lou would still be hurt, but it seemed almost cruel to tell her over the lunch that she’d gone to so much trouble to prepare.
When he finished eating, he said, “Well, denke for a lovely meal, Mary Lou. You didn’t need to go to this much trouble, but I appreciate it.”
“I enjoyed doing it for you. And perhaps we can …”
“Like I said before at Levi’s wedding, I’m really busy the next few weeks.”
She pouted. “I know. That’s why I made this lunch. You had time to have lunch, didn’t you?”
He nodded.
“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“I did. And now I must get back to work. Can I help you take everything back to your buggy?” He knew she’d brought the table and the chairs as well.
“Nee, I can do it. You go back to work. I don’t like to keep you since you’re so busy.” She stood up abruptly and started packing up the food, making it very clear by the way she was pouting that she was upset.
“Look, Mary Lou, I appreciate your kindness in making this lunch.”
She spun around to look at him. “And?”
“And … denke. Now I must get back to work.”
“Jah, you go. I know how important your work is.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay, bye.”
“Bye, Mary Lou, and denke.”
She gave him a strained smile before she turned away. He hurried back to the workshop, and on the way, he found Hazel in her office sipping a mug of steaming coffee.
He stuck his head through her doorway. “You could’ve warned me,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry, but there wasn’t much I could do. It was all last-minute.”
He sighed. “Try to give me some warning if this kind of thing happens again.”
“I will. I take it lunch didn’t go so well?” Hazel asked.
“Nee. I’ve never liked surprises. Although, it was a kind thought.”
Hazel nodded, and then he hurried back to start work. It hadn’t been a break, not really. It had only made him tense, trying to skirt around the issue of his lack of feeling toward her. And indigestion was likely to follow ... He wanted to tell Mary Lou that he liked someone else and would never be interested in her—not in a gazillion years, but he was happy with his decision not to tell her his true feelings today. Hopefully, what he’d said had given her a big enough hint.
Chapter 6
As Joshua took up where he’d left off before lunch, his brothers returned from their usual haunt.
“Where were you?” Benjamin, his youngest brother, asked.
“I had lunch here.”
“I saw Hazel calling you. What was all that about?”
He looked around and when he saw his other brothers weren’t nearby, he answered, “It was Mary Lou. She’d made me lunch. She went to a lot of trouble.”
“Made you lunch and brought it here?”
“Jah, as a surprise. Anyway, keep it to yourself.”
“Who would I tell?”
“Everyone,” Joshua answered.
“I won’t. Your secret’s safe with me.” Be
njamin gave him a wink.
“It’s not like that. I don’t like her. Not that way.”
“What? Are you crazy? She’s beautiful.”
“She might be, but don’t you think it’s weird? I mean, she was dating Isaac for years and then she liked Levi, and now she’s moved on to liking me?”
“She can’t help it if she’s got bad taste in men.”
“Get out of here.”
Benjamin laughed. “Hey, as long as you’re not interested, do you think I’d have a chance?”
“There’s no way in the world. You’re way too young for her.”
“You’re younger than her, too.”
“Yeah, but not by much. Not as much as you; now, get back to work.”
Benjamin walked away.
He pitied the poor girl who ended up with Benjamin; at sixteen he had a lot of growing up to do. He had no idea about girls and seemed to like them all. He was a maverick, Joshua thought, but a goodhearted one.
Adeline was pinning out the last of the washing when she heard a buggy. Catherine would normally be helping her, but she was in bed with a bad cold. Their mother was out visiting and their father at work, so Adeline was left to do everything. She quickly pinned out the last dress and hurried to see who their visitor was. It was too early to be her mother back home as she’d only just left. When she got around to the other side of the house, she saw Mary Lou stepping down from the buggy.
“Hi, Mary Lou.”
Since Mary Lou was older, she was on the outer fringe of Adeline's group of friends.
“Hi, Adeline. I’ve got the day off and I thought I’d stop by to see you.”
“Great. Come inside. I've just finished hanging out the laundry and I can do with some company.”
She took Mary Lou through to the kitchen and they both sat down at the kitchen table.
“Now, would you like hot tea or kaffe? Perhaps a cold drink?”
“Nee denke. I’ve just come from lunch.”
“Okay. Then let's go sit in the living room.” Adeline was pleased to have a visitor, and the reason was if Adeline’s mother came home and complained that she hadn’t gotten much work done, she could always tell her it was because Mary Lou interrupted her chores.
Once they were sitting on the comfortable couch, Mary Lou said, “You haven’t asked me about my lunch.”
“Where did you go?”
“I had lunch with Joshua.”
Adeline’s heart sank. “You did?” When she’d seen Mary Lou and Joshua talking at the wedding, she’d never dreamed he would’ve asked her out. Had Mary Lou come there to boast? Did she know somehow that she liked him too?
“Jah. We had a cozy lunch not far from where he works. I can’t wait to tell Nella.”
“Why would you want to tell Nella?”
Mary Lou laughed. “Nella likes him. Surely you know that.”
“I can’t say what I know. I don’t like it when talk gets around. If I say something, then someone will say I said it, and how they tell it might not be correct. Dat says that’s gossip.”
“Everyone knows Nella likes him and has liked him for ages. It’s not gossip when it’s a cold hard fact.”
Mary Lou was speaking gruffly and Adeline was a little wary of her. She got the feeling that no one ever disagreed with Mary Lou without backlash.
“When did he ask you out for lunch? Was it at the wedding?”
Mary Lou’s gaze traveled to the ceiling. “I can’t remember. Oh, you’ve got cobwebs.”
Adeline gasped. She hated cobwebs. That meant spiders. “Where?”
Mary Lou pointed to the corner of the room above the back door.
Pleased that she couldn’t see any spiders in the web, Adeline said, “I’ll get it down later.” She looked back at Mary Lou. “I’m glad you had a nice lunch.”
“Are you?” Mary Lou tipped her head back and her eyes glistened.
A shiver went down Adeline’s spine. “Of course I am.”
“I suppose you’d rather Nella be his girlfriend than me.”
Adeline felt a pain shoot through her heart. She was calling herself ‘his girlfriend.’ Could it be true? All she wanted to do was throw herself on her bed and cry. “It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Really?”
“Joshua should have whoever he chooses.”
“And who do you think Joshua’s choice should be?” Mary Lou leaned forward and jutted out her chin.
A weird sensation flooded through Adeline’s body as an urge to slap Mary Lou’s face came over her. She’d never hit anyone in her life before. Not even her little sister when she’d been excruciatingly annoying. Adeline coughed hard in an effort to rid herself of the urge. “It’s up to him. No one can speak for him. He needs to follow his heart.”
“Hmm. You’re very similar to Lucy. You even talk the same.”
“Well, she is my schweschder. So, are you his girlfriend now?”
“I’m not far off it.”
Relief washed over Adeline. She was pleased that he hadn’t chosen a girlfriend yet, but at the same time, she didn’t want to be in some kind of three-way race with Mary Lou and Nella.
Catherine appeared at the bottom of the stairs in her nightgown, clutching a well-loved rag doll. “Hello, Mary Lou.”
Mary Lou turned around and looked at her. “Catherine, are you only just waking at this time of day?”
“She’s got a bad cold,” Adeline explained.
Catherine walked a few steps closer. “I just came down for water. I’ve drunk my whole pitcher. Mamm told me to drink a lot.”
“Go back to bed. I’ll refill it in a minute.”
“Now please, Adeline. Mamm said I need to drink a lot to get rid of this cold.”
“Okay, just go back and I’ll bring more up.”
“You’re a bit old for dollies, aren’t you?” Mary Lou smirked at Catherine.
Catherine walked over and sat next to Mary Lou. “Nee, I’m not. I’m going to sleep with this one forever.” She hugged it to herself.
“She used to cry if anyone took it from her when she was a boppli. Our grossmammi made it for her before she died.”
“Well, she couldn’t have made it after she died.” Mary Lou laughed, but no one else did. She edged herself away from Catherine. “Don’t sit so close. I don’t want to get ill. I’m too busy for that. I don’t get paid for sick days.”
Catherine coughed without covering her mouth and Mary Lou sprang to her feet. “I’ll stop by another time, Adeline.”
“Are you going already?” Adeline asked, as she too stood.
“Jah. It’s my day off and I’ve got a lot to do. The day’s nearly gone already.”
Adeline walked Mary Lou to the door and then leaned her body against the side of the doorframe as she watched Mary Lou’s horse and buggy head down the driveway.
“What did she want?” Catherine asked when Adeline finally closed the door.
“She told me she had lunch with Joshua. I think that’s what she came here to tell me.”
Catherine gasped. “I thought I heard her say Joshua’s name. That’s not good. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. She implied she was his girlfriend, but when I asked her further questions, she said she was ‘not far off’ being his girlfriend.”
“That means she’s not at all and she’s probably making the whole thing up.”
“Do you think she made it up about having lunch with him?”
“She probably had lunch with him and lots of other people and she exaggerated the whole thing.”
“I’ll get you water.” Adeline walked toward the kitchen.
“No need. I’ve got plenty.”
She swung around and stared at her younger sister. “You told me you’d run out.”
“I was helping you get rid of her.” Catherine sneezed.
“That wasn’t necessary. I can handle her.”
“I’m not sure about that.” Catherine wiped her nose on her sleeve.
“Yuck! Don’t do that.”
“I don’t have any more handkerchiefs.”
“Just go back to bed and I’ll bring you some of Dat’s. Do you want me to heat you up some soup?”
“Jah please, and I'd like some thick bread with loads of butter.”
“You can’t be too sick if you’re that hungry.”
Catherine started up the stairs and called out behind her, “Feed a cold and starve a fever. That’s what they say.”
Her sister’s words went in one ear and out the other. Adeline was too concerned about what Mary Lou had told her. She knew she had to leave things be and not worry, but why had Mary Lou visited her and told her she’d had lunch with Joshua? Was she hoping that she would then tell Nella? That had to be it.
If Joshua had any feelings for her at all, Adeline thought as she was getting her sister's soup warmed, he wouldn’t have had lunch with Mary Lou. That meant she’d misread his glances, had been wrong about him liking her. It was a horrible thing that the first man she’d ever liked didn’t like her. She sat down at the kitchen table while a single tear trickled down her cheek.
Chapter 7
Hours later, Adeline made the decision to visit Nella. She’d fed Catherine hot soup, brought in the washing that was already dry thanks to a westerly breeze, and had chopped all the vegetables in preparation for the evening meal. The rest she’d do when she got home. On the days her mother spent visiting, she never liked to cook when she got home. Adeline left a note for Mamm saying that she’d do everything to finish the meal preparations on her return.
When Adeline pulled her buggy up at Nella’s parents’ house, the front door opened immediately and instead of Nella standing in the doorway, it was Nella’s mother.
Adeline secured her horse and buggy and then walked over to her.
“I’m so glad you’ve come, Adeline. Nella is so upset she’s making herself sick.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Best you talk to her yourself. She’s in her bedroom.”
Adeline hurried to her friend’s room, the last on the left down the narrow dark hallway. She knocked on the door when she found it closed.
Joshua's Choice: Amish Romance (Seven Amish Bachelors Book 3) Page 3
