Peach Cobbler Mystery

by Naomi Miller

  Yield: 8 dozen

  — ELEVEN —

  Saturday morning came with a flurry of excitement in the Chupp household. Even though her sweet dochder and her freinden at the bakery had been preparing for weeks, Martha knew that Katie felt there was not enough time to get everything finished before the party this afternoon.

  Katie had been doing extra baking at home all week in preparation for the party, including the dozens of beautifully decorated cupcakes she had packed into several boxes that Travis would be picking up to deliver to the cafe later that morning.

  Martha was still unsure why, but Gott had placed it on her heart to show Bella extra love and kindness, so Martha had been sewing tiny garments for the young woman since Katie had mentioned Bella's news to her.

  When she had mentioned it to some of her neighbors, several of them had suggested a quilt, and between them, they had finished not one, but two quilts. One was a queen-size quilt in a beautiful, colorful fence rail pattern for Bella. The other was a baby quilt with a flower garden pattern in soft colors and extra soft material.

  “Katie, hurry down. Travis is here for you.” She called up to her dochder when his knock sounded at the back door.

  “I'll be right down.” Katie called a moment later.

  Martha opened the door for the young man, inviting him in and explaining that Katie would be down soon. “Travis, do you have time for breakfast? Or perhaps a slice of pie?” He may have had breakfast at home, but young men, especially her own buwes, seemed to stay hungry.

  “No, thank you, ma'am. Gwen is waiting in the car and I know Katie wants to get to work early.”

  At that moment, Katie came bounding down the stairs, carrying several boxes. “Mamm, can you bring the rest of the stuff with you?”

  “Jah, Katie. The others will be here soon and we will go to the cafe early to help get ready.”

  “That is gut. I cannot leave the bakery until it closes and everything is readied for Monday morning. I expect we will all walk over together with Bella once we're done.”

  “I can come over and escort you to the cafe.” Travis offered. “I will let Andrew know that all of you will be coming over with me.”

  “That sounds like a gut plan to me. And everyone at the party will be ready to surprise Bella, right?”

  “Right. Now I think we should be going. You are going to have a very busy day.”

  “Jah.” Katie turned back to Martha. “I will see you at the party, jah?” When Martha nodded, Katie leaned over to hug her and then she followed Travis out to his car.

  Martha watched as the young man opened Katie's door for her, waited until she was seated and then closed it before going around to his own.

  He is such a gut young man. Ach. If only he were Amish. She truly was impressed by his behavior toward her dochder. If he were a young Amish man, she would already be looking forward to a wedding in the near future. But to admit that she was allrecht with his not being Amish felt as if she would be telling Katie it would be fine for her to stay in the Englischer world and never be baptized. Even if she were not shunned, it would be difficult on them all to lose Katie to the Englisch world.

  Shaking off such negative thoughts, Martha turned from the window and began to clean up the few dishes that remained in the kitchen sink. She had much to do before leaving to meet Katie in town.

  * * *

  The day passed quickly. Travis and Sean supervised the ladies who came to decorate the main room of the cafe. The few customers who came in were seated in a small room that was usually reserved for private parties while everyone else was busy getting the main room of the cafe ready for the baby shower.

  Across the street, Bella was kept busy taking orders, while Gwen was stationed behind the counter to wait on customers. Travis came in a few times and left with boxes, but since it was his job to make deliveries, Bella should not have had a thing to suspect.

  Katie and Freida, with the help of Gwen, had finished all the orders on Thursday and they had been picked up or delivered already. Once the door was locked at noon, everyone pitched in and cleaned up the front room and the kitchen areas.

  In no time at all, Travis came in the back door, ready to escort everyone across the street to the cafe.

  When Bella stepped inside the large room, she looked thrilled to find more than half the ladies in town. The only men in the room were Mr. O'Neal, Sean, and Travis, but that made perfect sense, since most men kept their distance from something as trivial, in their opinion, as a baby shower.

  Just inside the doorway, there were tables piled high with gifts, wrapped in brightly-colored paper. At the far end of the room, more tables were set up with all sorts of finger foods, desserts and a big punch bowl, one of which held several dozen cupcakes, decorated with pink, green, blue, and yellow frosting. In the middle of the room there were a dozen round tables with colorful tablecloths and party favors scattered across them.

  Andrew made a show of escorting Bella to her seat. Freida sat beside her, with Gwen taking a seat on her other side, and Hannah, who had gotten off work early, sat down beside Freida. Katie sat beside her, with Travis on her other side, beside his sister.

  As the other tables began to fill with friends and neighbors, Freida took the opportunity to tease Travis.

  “Travis, are you going to join us? Have you ever attended a baby shower before?”

  “Nope, this is my first one. . . and yep, I'm staying.”

  “Really?”

  It was all Travis could do not to laugh at Freida's shocked expression as he took hold of Katie's hand under the table. He squeezed and winked at her, before turning back to answer her friend.

  “No, silly. I'm not staying. . . but I am going to enjoy some of these delicious treats before I go. Then I'll be joining Sean in the kitchen until you need us to carry all the gifts out. Mr. O'Neal's truck is parked by the back door so we can load them all up and take them over to Mrs. Mueller's house in one trip.”

  * * *

  “Oh good.” Mrs. Mueller remarked. “I was hoping we wouldn't have to take everything out ourselves. Thank you, dear boy.” She turned to the table behind her as Travis went off to gather up the treats he'd mentioned, where Cissy Davis was sitting with Martha Chupp and her daughter-in-law, Mary, who was married to Ervin, Martha's oldest son.

  “You raised that boy right, Cissy. I know you've had a rough time, but you have some mighty good children that you can be proud of.”

  “Thank you, Ada. I don't know what I'd do without them. They are a big help to me.”

  Martha put her hand on top of Cissy's. “I thought I would let you know that Katie's dat and I have been very impressed with Travis. I don't have to tell you that we were more than a little concerned when she told us they were courting. But he has given us no reason to worry.”

  “That's good to know. And I want to tell you how much we enjoy having Katie over to supper on Thursdays. The kids look forward to her visit each week. . . as do I.”

  * * *

  After everyone did justice to the sandwiches, chips, nuts, mints, cupcakes, and punch, Travis, Sean and Mr. O'Neal made themselves scarce while the ladies oohed and aahed over each and every baby gift.

  Bella was sitting up front, next to the nearest table that was laden with gifts. One by one, Gwen would hand her a gift to open, while Mrs. O'Neal would write down the item and the name of the giver so Bella would have a record of who gave her each gift.

  Being a small community, there had been no gift registry, yet there were very few duplicates, unless the number of onesies, gowns, and diapers counted.

  There were big gifts and small gifts. . . handmade gifts and purchased gifts. . . but Bella seemed to deeply appreciate them all. She oohed and aahed over each one with everyone else, taking her time opening the wrapping, and telling the giver how beautiful it was, or how much it was needed, or how thoughtful a gift it was.

  Katie thought Bella looked shocked when the large box that held the quilts was opened.
She was obviously surprised. . . and clearly overwhelmed by the beautiful handmade gifts.

  Katie noticed that there was no sign of a box with all the beautiful baby clothes her mamm had made. She started to mention it, then decided that her mamm might have not brought it for some unknown reason.

  Later, when all the gifts had been opened, Katie's mamm took her aside and in hushed tones told her that she had decided to give Bella the quilts at the party; and that she had dropped off the box of baby clothes at Mrs. Mueller's house to be opened there.

  Katie recognized right away that her mamm was trying not to flaunt how much she had done for the young mother-to-be. Not one to outdo anyone, Martha had only done what she felt would be needed.

  At that moment, Travis and Sean made their way to the front. Travis brought in a bassinet, Sean carried a baby swing, and Mr. O'Neal followed them, pushing a stroller with a matching carseat.

  “Bella, these are from the employees here at the cafe. We hope you enjoy them.” Andrew winked at his wife, then looked back at Bella. “And whenever you're ready to go, we'll be moving everything to Mrs. Mueller's home for you.”

  “Oh, Mr. O'Neal, I don't know what to say. I never expected. . .” Bella looked around at everyone, tears falling down her cheeks. “You all have done so much!”

  “Nonsense, girl. You're a part of this community now and we take care of each other.” Andrew looked a bit flustered, as if he was not quite comfortable around weeping females. His wife, however, knew just what was needed.

  Putting her arms around the young woman, Amelia gave Bella a gentle hug and pressed a handkerchief into her hand. “We consider you a part of our family now.” And she must have noticed the tired look on Bella's face, because a moment later she added, “I think you've had enough excitement for today. It's time we took you home. You need your rest.”

  Taking his cue from his wife, Andrew began stacking boxes. “Here, Sean. Carry these out to my truck, then come back for another load. Travis, put that bed thingie in the back of the truck and come back for the swing.”

  After giving everyone time to say goodbye to Bella, Amelia and Ada Mueller led her out to Amelia's car. Amelia, with a wave to Katie, Freida, and Gwen, drove off in the direction of Ada's house.

  “Whew! That was a great success!” Freida exclaimed. “And it went much better than I had hoped.”

  “Jah, it was a very gut party. Bella should be pretty much set up for awhile.” Katie looked around. “And now I think we should pitch in and help clean up this room. Gwen, why don't you fix up a box of sandwiches and goodies to take home for your family.”

  “That's a great idea, thanks.”

  Katie had noticed that Gwen had been quiet most of the time. She hoped Gwen didn't have a problem with Bella; they seemed to get along all right at work. If she could just figure out what was wrong. . .

  — TWELVE —

  Monday morning was a busy day at the bakery. With just three more days until the Flag Day celebration, everyone in the community was busy preparing to celebrate with family, friends, food, and fun!

  Lots of special orders had come in and it was all Katie and Gwen could do to keep up with them. In the kitchen area of the bakery, Katie and Gwen flew back and forth so quickly that Mrs. O'Neal stayed in her office so she wouldn't be in their way. Later, when Mr. O'Neal came by to ask if she wanted to accompany him on an errand, she looked relieved.

  Katie was delighted to have Gwen's help. Even though Katie was still faster, Gwen had learned much during the past few months. Although she still had much more to learn, Gwen could already be counted on to do her share of the baking.

  And, there was still a small chance Mrs. O'Neal would need someone to take over for her. Katie wanted to hope that her mamm's coming to Bella's shower, and her comments to Cissy Davis about Travis might mean that her parents had changed their minds about her quitting her job, but since they had not specifically said so, she didn't want to be overly hopeful. Which meant she was glad to have the opportunity to teach Gwen more.

  It was also fortunate for Freida, who spent most of her time helping Bella with customers. Several times, when the bakery was empty, Katie had heard them chatting about baby names and all things related to pregnancy.

  Mrs. O'Neal had asked Katie and Freida to watch over Bella to make sure she didn't overdo. Katie was grateful for it because it meant every hour or so, Freida would insist that Bella take a break for a few minutes, and she would take a break as well.

  Katie had just taken a sheet of sugar cookies out of the oven when the sound of the back door opening had her and Gwen looking up from their work.

  “Hello, girls. We're back.” Mrs. O'Neal came in, followed by her husband. Andrew had his arms laden with packages.

  “Goodness, what did you buy?” asked Gwen, her curiosity showing on her face, as well as in her voice.

  “More baby clothes.” responded Andrew. “It seems that my dear wife is afraid Bella's little girl will outgrow all her clothes and have nothing to wear.”

  “Stop teasing me, Andrew. You had more fun picking out dresses and outfits and shoes than I did. And you are the one who insisted on not one, but two little purses for a babe who isn't even born yet.” Amelia tried to sound indignant, but couldn't hide her smile.

  “Boplin do grow up quickly.” Katie commented. “It seems in no time at all they're growing out of their clothes. Mamm was fortunate to have clothes from previous boplin to use with each of us, although she usually made a few new things with each bopli, too.” Katie smiled at the thought of the babies she had helped care for at home.

  She hoped to have babies of her own someday.

  “I thought as much.” Amelia looked at her husband with a smile. “There's no sense in buying more newborn clothes, when the child will need bigger clothes soon enough.” She looked back to Katie and Gwen then. “We bought several things in different sizes. . . since she opened gifts with 3 month size clothing, we bought clothes in six month, twelve month, and eighteen month sizes.”

  “And I suppose the little patent leather shoes and purse will have to wait for a couple of years.”

  Mrs. O'Neal laughed at the comment. “Yes, dear heart. They will.”

  “But I bet Bella will be glad to have them someday.” Andrew commented.

  “Yes, I'm sure she will enjoy them.” Amelia smiled, and turned toward her office. “Let's go put these packages in a safe place for now. We don't want to overwhelm Bella with too much at once.” Amelia headed towards her office. “Then I want to go out and speak to her for a few minutes before we leave.”

  * * *

  Travis knew Katie had a lot on her mind, so he tried to be helpful and stay out of the way. This week he would be making deliveries three times a day, instead of two, so he'd have more opportunities to see her anyway.

  Thursday he would be escorting Katie to the celebration and he was feeling such joy it was a wonder he could concentrate on his work at all.

  Holidays are certainly a big celebration in Abbott Creek. I don't know of any other place that comes together to celebrate holidays like this community.

  Like most of the community events, each family would bring enough food to feed the members of their own family, plus an extra dish or two to share. He had first discovered this practice when his family had been invited to the Independence Day celebration two years ago. Their family had not been able to bring any food, but so many other families had brought enough extra that there had been more than enough for everyone.

  Since Travis had moved back to Abbott Creek from the city, the community had done much to help them out with extra food and all sorts of odd jobs. Only since his job at the cafe had become full-time had the ends truly begun to meet. Though at times there was still a need to be met.

  There were still times that he would open the front door to find that something had been left on the porch. It had almost become a family joke that they had no idea who the contributors were or how they seemed to know just what was
needed. Secretly, Travis thought it must be God speaking to the people. Nothing else made much sense.

  Travis had even been embarrassed a few times about it, until Mr. O'Neal had met with him privately and had a heart to heart talk about it all.

  He had made Travis see that giving to others was a blessing to the giver—and the receiver. To not accept a gift was hurtful to the giver, as well as denying his family of something they needed. That had made it a little easier on Travis.

  He had also taken that and applied it to his own efforts. Though he worked part-time at the bakery and full-time at the cafe, he continued to work among his English and Amish neighbors, doing odd jobs and helping wherever needed.

  He was a hard worker and so far, he had paid off all of his mother's medical bills and the outstanding bills left over after his father's death, plus put a little into savings. He rarely took anything for himself, except to keep his car running and for an occasional date nowadays.

  * * *

  Sean was busy at the Irish Blessings Cafe, learning more about bookkeeping procedures that were necessary in running a business. Travis usually sat in on the meetings. He had a head for figures and Sean appreciated having someone trustworthy who could back him up.

  Why, Travis could probably cover for me if I were away for awhile. Which is a load off my mind.

  When his mum had sent him to help Uncle Andrew, he had not been prepared to have the whole business dumped in his lap!

  Not that I'm complaining. It's a Godsend. That's what it is. . . having my own business means I can marry sooner, rather than later.

  Lately, Sean had been thinking a lot about the future—his future—with a certain lady.

  If I had known when I came here, would I have refused? Or leaped at the chance? What am I supposed to do when I want her to be mine, but the chances of things working out are slim.