Treva, ever the most level-headed of them all, nodded. “You know, that makes a lot of sense to me. I’ve certainly felt like I’ve been watched a bit overzealously from time to time.”
“You needed watching, Treva,” their mother declared. “Especially when you were seeing that awful Simon Beachy.”
“Simon wasn’t that bad.”
“He wasn’t that good,” Daed said with a scowl.
“He kept trying to hold your hand,” Leanna pointed out.
“And he was fat,” Henry pointed out. “And had soft hands.”
Obviously embarrassed, Treva tossed back her head. “See what I mean? I don’t blame you one bit, Aden.”
“Danke, Treva,” Aden said with a dry smile.
Nate and Henry looked at each other and then sighed. “I understand, too, Aden,” Henry said. “When I’m as old as you, I sure wouldn’t want to be living at home and doing chores.”
Their father grunted. “Because I’m sure when you’re living on your own you’ll have no chores to do.”
“Not the same ones, though,” Henry said.
Aden chuckled at all the bickering. “Oh, I’ll have chores, I’m sure of that.” Looking at Nate and Henry, he added, “I just won’t have to do anyone else’s too. Or have to take care to make sure everyone else is doing theirs correctly.”
“I’ll look forward to that day, too, son,” Daed said with a dry expression. “Now, Aden, what do you need from us?”
“Nothing. Just your understanding.”
Her parents looked at each other. “We understand, but that doesn’t mean that we’re happy about you leaving.”
“Even if you live by yourself, I will still think of you as my eldest boy, Aden,” her mother said. “No matter where you go, you always will be.”
“I want to always be one of your boys, Martha. It would be my honor.”
After that, there didn’t seem to be anything more to say. Nate and Henry darted off, Treva hugged Aden before escaping to her room, and her parents patted his head before wandering into the kitchen.
All too quickly, only she and Aden remained. Christina felt so many conflicting emotions, she yearned to escape to her room so she could cry in peace. But when she noticed that he seemed just as stressed, she knew she couldn’t leave him alone. “It looks as if it’s just the two of us now.”
His gaze warmed. “How do you think it went?”
“About as well as could be expected, I suppose,” she said diplomatically. “You gave us a bit of a shock.”
“All I’m doing is moving out.”
“I know.”
“I mean, it’s not like we won’t still see each other.”
“That is true. But things will change. It’s going to be different.”
“It is time.”
“Perhaps.” She yearned to say more, to tell him how confused and conflicted she felt. But she decided to keep her thoughts to herself for a little bit longer.
“Christina, please don’t be upset with me.”
His tone was so sweet, so pleading, she found herself looking into his eyes yet again. “I’m not upset.”
“You sure?”
“I know you’ll be fine. I mean, everything changes, right?”
“I think so.” He swallowed. “It’s like the seasons, I suppose. We can’t stop winter from coming or spring from arriving. Change is inevitable.”
She knew that. And she agreed. But it didn’t make what was happening any easier. She was disappointed that she wouldn’t be sharing most of her meals with him. Sad that their relationship was going to change. Worried about their futures.
“I’ll be fine living on my own, you know.”
“I imagine you will.” Though it hurt to say it, she knew it was true. Aden Reese was the type of man who would be fine wherever he was. “Do you, ah, have enough money to rent an apartment?”
“I think so. I’ve been saving for a while.”
Which meant that he’d been planning this move for some time. For some reason, that made everything seem worse.
Which, unfortunately, made her blurt her innermost thoughts before thinking better of it.
“Aden, why, exactly, do you want to be on your own? And I’m talking about the real reason. Not the one you just told us all.”
“I just told you the real reason. Honestly, Christina. Don’t make this into anything more than it is.”
She hated when he adopted that smart, know-it-all tone! She was about to throw up her hands in frustration and leave the room when she took a better look at him. He’d looked bemused, but now there was the barest hint of wariness in his gaze.
She realized her instincts had been right. He was hiding something. “I still get the sense that there’s another reason you are suddenly so eager to leave. A secret one.”
He leaned back and his expression turned guarded. “You sound mighty sure of yourself.”
“I am. What is it? Have you met someone while working at the hospital that you want to be courting?”
His eyebrows rose. “You think I’ve met someone?”
He looked so horrified, she felt embarrassed. But not enough to take her words back. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. And as I said, you are the right age to be courting someone seriously. And as I said, a lot of men your age are married.”
“That is true.” He reached up and rubbed a knot out of his shoulder. “Um, actually, I have been interested in someone.”
“You have?” Oh, but this conversation was getting worse and worse. It was a struggle to keep a calm, peaceful expression.
“Oh, jah.” He glanced at her briefly, then looked away, suddenly interested in a small cut on one of his knuckles. “It’s not serious or anything. But I definitely have had my eye on this lady.”
Lady? “So, um, did you meet her at the hospital?”
“I did.” He paused before looking at her directly in the eye. “I met her a few weeks ago, as a matter of fact.”
“You never said anything.”
“Christina, you know why I didn’t. Your parents would have asked me a thousand questions. Plus, with her being English and all . . .”
She felt devastated. Completely devastated. “What is her name?”
“Name? Ah, why is that important?”
Because she wanted to know everything about the woman who was taking Aden from her! But of course she couldn’t say that. Instead, she tried her best to act calm, cool, and collected. “Oh, no reason. I was just curious. I mean, I might have met her at the inn or something.” A sick feeling settled in her stomach. Gosh, had he gone and fallen in love with someone she knew? She didn’t know too many English girls, but she did know a couple.
She gulped. “Have I met her? Do I know her?”
“Nee! I mean, I’m fairly sure you wouldn’t have.”
“Aden, are you going to tell me her name?”
“I am definitely not.”
“I promise I won’t say anything to anyone.”
“Which is all the more reason that you don’t need to know anything more about my private life.” Standing up, he treated her to a look that was definitely a little bit full of himself. Definitely a little bit too smug. “I simply don’t need my sister poking her nose into my business.”
As she watched him leave, Christina had to forcefully remind herself to close her mouth and not stare after him like a fool.
But it was difficult to do.
After all, today was the first day she could ever remember hearing him call her his sister.
And now that she had heard it? She didn’t care for the sound of it. Not one bit.
I hope everyone won’t be too shocked when we tell them our news, Ben,” Judith said as they walked toward the front door of her parents’ house.
“Oh, they’re going to be shocked,” Ben replied in that confident way of his. “And they’re going to have lots to say, too.”
“You think so?” They really didn’t have time for a long, involved d
iscussion. There were too many things to do!
“I’m certain of it. This is your family, after all. Everything is cause for commotion, discussion, and excitement.”
Thinking of the many big events . . . and the many more small ones that only felt big, Judith sighed. Usually, she didn’t mind everyone’s exuberance. She liked how their excitement made even the most mundane of things feel like something special.
But now, well, she wasn’t sure that she herself was ready to be in the middle of a Graber family hurricane. “I fear you are right.”
Ben gripped her shoulder as he rapped twice on the door before turning the knob. “Chin up, Judith,” he whispered before guiding her inside.
“Who’s here? Oh, Judith! And Ben?” Looking from one to the other, her mother’s voice faltered a bit. As did her steps. “This is a surprise. Is . . . Is everything all right?”
After smiling softly at Ben, Judith said, “Mamm, we have something to tell you. Do you have time to talk?”
“Of course I do.” A line appeared between her brows as she gazed from Ben to Judith to Ben again. “What has happened?”
“Something exciting. And scary, too.”
“Scary, you say?”
“Nee, I mean . . . I mean. . . . Oh, I don’t know what I mean.” Feeling tongue-tied and helpless, she turned to Ben. Silently pleading for his help.
He came to the rescue just as she’d hoped. “What my frau is trying to say is that we will be fostering a baby soon.”
“Soon? How soon?”
“He’ll be arriving tomorrow morning.”
Her mother’s eyebrows lifted so high, Judith almost feared they’d get lost in her hairline. But to her mother’s credit, she simply smiled. “Well, now. Isn’t that gut news? Come into the kitchen and tell us about it.”
Us? Suddenly worried that her news was about to get sucked into the usual family whirlwind, Judith paused. “Who else is here?”
“You got lucky today, dear. There’s only Clara, her babies, and Gretta. Everyone else is either working on the farm or at the store.”
Feeling chagrined, Judith said, “Mamm, you know me so well—it’s almost as if you read my mind! I wasn’t ready to have a big discussion with the whole family.”
“I don’t need to read your mind to know that you’d like a little bit of privacy to share such an important bit of news,” she said as she led the way into the kitchen.
Once there, Judith and Ben greeted Gretta and Clara and their babies, who were either sitting in high chairs or playing on a quilt on the floor. After kissing the children and exchanging greetings and accepting cups of coffee, Judith sat by Ben’s side and explained everything that had happened during the last twenty-four hours. “It all started with a visit from Bernie, our social worker,” she said.
Clara leaned forward. “And?”
“And she said there was a woman who had recently had a baby in prison.”
Gretta blinked. “The mother is in prison?”
Judith couldn’t fault Gretta’s look of shock. But it was funny, because she realized she was starting to take that in stride now. “The baby’s name is James.”
The worried lines on her mother’s forehead smoothed. “James, is it? Tell us more, dear.”
And so Judith did. She told her all about Bernie’s visit telling them what it meant to be foster parents. She told them about her prayers the night before and their phone call that morning. Finally, she revealed that baby James would be arriving the very next morning.
As she expected, the other women’s expressions flickered between amazement, sadness for the mother behind bars, and a mixture of joy and doubt as Judith explained what she knew about fostering.
And then pure shock.
“Tomorrow morning you say?” her mother asked.
To Judith’s relief, Ben answered that one. “We didn’t want to wait. And frankly, Bernie didn’t want to wait any longer, either. That’s why we’re here. We need your help.”
For a few seconds, the only noise in the room was Clara’s twins cooing to each other. Then, Gretta spoke. “I am mighty happy for you, Judith. What can I do?”
And wasn’t that just like Gretta? Josh’s wife was always quiet, always thoughtful. But most of all, she didn’t spend a lot of time on dramatics. Instead, she always got to the heart of things. Her demeanor soothed Judith’s nervous energy like little else could have.
“I need advice. And baby things. And . . . And I’m not even sure! I’ve helped babysit your kinner, but I fear that isn’t the same thing.”
Clara and Gretta looked at each other and chuckled. “It is certainly not,” Clara said. “Oh, Judith, we are going to have a busy day!”
At last, her mother enfolded her in her arms and hugged her tightly. “But not to worry. We’re going to get it all done.”
“You really think it’s possible?”
“But of course! I promise, dear, you came to the right place. Now, let’s make some lists and start sending our men to various houses to gather things.”
“You’re simply going to send the men out on your errands?” Ben joked.
“Oh, jah,” her mother replied with a new gleam in her eye. “Here’s my first command. Benjamin, go to the barn and tell Tim and Anson to come inside right this minute. We have work to do.”
“I’m on my way.” After squeezing Judith’s hand, he left the kitchen like he’d just been given a vacation.
Once the door closed, her mother got out a pencil and paper and handed it to Judith. “Daughter, get ready. You’re about to get more advice than you’ll know what to do with.”
“I’m ready, Mamm.” Yes, she was more than ready for anything. She was sure of it.
chapter six
“Where did you hide your smile today?” Mrs. Kent asked Christina when she entered the Sugarcreek Inn the following morning. “I usually never see you without it.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have too much to smile about this morning,” Christina said.
Looking concerned, Jana put down the menu she was wiping and walked to her side. “What’s wrong? Is someone sick?”
“Nee. It’s nothing like that.” Christina tried to smile, but she feared that instead of looking happy she looked more like she was heading to a funeral. “It’s just been a challenging twenty-four hours.”
“Would you like to talk about it?” Jana gestured around the dining room. “We’re not too busy, I’d be happy to listen.”
It was gestures like this that made her feel so blessed to be working at the Sugarcreek Inn. Sure, the work was hard, but Mrs. Kent truly did care about each of her employees.
But not even a kind heart and a willingness to listen were going to ease her worries. “Danke, but it’s nothing too serious. I’m simply a little upset about something that’s going on at home.” With effort, she shook off her mood. “I promise, I’ll be better in a minute. I’m sorry for bringing my blue mood to work.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I’m afraid I’ve given you all a share of my moods a time or two. Especially lately.”
All of the employees had been aware that their boss had been more impatient and grumpy than usual. Just the week before, Ruth had secretly grumbled that she was tempted to march into their boss’s office and send her home for the day!
But Christina figured it would be best not to say a word about that. “So, what would you like me to do today? Dishes?” Ironically, she realized she wouldn’t mind even if her boss wanted her to wash dishes all day. At least then she wouldn’t have to say a word to anyone. If she was standing in front of the sink, she could stew to her heart’s content.
“No dishes for you. Jolene is doing a great job with them. Actually, I scheduled you to be a server again today. How does that sound?”
Well, there was only one answer to that. “It sounds gut. I’ll go put a white apron on.”
“Whatever it is that’s bothering you, I hope it passes soon, dear.”
“Danke, Jana.” R
ealizing she was about to start crying yet again, Christina hurried to the kitchen. After quietly greeting Marla and Ruth, she slipped a white apron on and then headed back to the dining room.
Just in time to greet a table of four that Jana had just seated. “Gut matin,” she said politely. “May I bring you a cup of kaffi or some juice?”
“I’ll take a cup,” a deep voice murmured.
She met the customer’s gaze. And then nearly dropped her pencil. He had lovely eyes, dark green with faint flecks of gold in them. And those eyes were gazing at her in an appreciative way.
When she realized she had stared right back at him for a full second, she blurted, “Do you take cream?”
His expression remained solemn, as if she’d just asked him the most important question in the world. But then his lips turned up. “Nee.”
To her amazement, her insides gave a little jump. And before she quite realized what she was about, she found herself smiling right back at him.
He chuckled. “I was wondering if you were ever going to smile.”
“I’m sorry. I . . . I’m distracted this mornin’.” Kind of like she was feeling distracted right at that moment.
“My wife and I would also like some kaffi, miss,” another man, who could only be the man’s father, gently reminded her. “And my daughter would like some hot chocolate.”
Christina felt her cheeks flush. “Oh! Oh, jah. To be sure. I mean . . . all right. I mean, I’ll be right back with a carafe. In a moment.”
The moment she turned around, she closed her eyes in mortification. She sounded as ditzy as a thirteen-year-old around her first crush! Stepping away, she made a point to breathe deeply and get her bearings.
When she returned moments later, she found herself meeting that man’s gaze again as she poured his coffee. After also filling his parents’ mugs, and delivering the girl’s hot chocolate, and taking their orders. And yet again when she delivered their food.
Even when she was waiting on other tables, she found herself glancing his way. When the boy’s mother raised her eyebrows at Christina, she felt herself blush. She surely was making a cake of herself. For sure and for certain!
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