"I'm sure I'd be able to do that. And do it very well."
"I’ll tell you what. What if we both try the job out for a week? You see if you like it and I'll see if I think you're a good fit for the job. You'll be paid for the week, of course."
"Do you mean it? I've got the job?"
"What you've got is a tryout, for a week."
"That's what I meant. And if I do a good job you'll keep me on?"
"That's right. When can you start?"
"Willows! What are you doing here?"
There was only one young man who called her Willows, and that was Liam Hostetler.
Willow turned around to see him. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his golden-brown hair. His eyes were nearly the same color as his hair, only darker.
"I'm here about a job."
He smiled. "You'll be working here?"
His father stood up. "We’re giving Willow a trial for a week. Starting tomorrow, if she’s able.”
"Oh, jah, tomorrow would be fine. More than fine. Shall I start at nine?"
Mr. Hostetler tilted his head. "We start at seven thirty around here."
"I’ll be here by seven thirty, then. Is there anything else you need from me today, Mr. Hostetler? Do I need to tell you anything else?"
"I can get all the other information from you tomorrow. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."
"I'll be here, and denke for the opportunity."
He smiled, puffing out his ruddy cheeks. "Goodbye, Willow.”
"I'll walk you out,” Liam said. “How did you get here?" Liam asked once they were outside.
"I've got my buggy,” Willow said.
"So you'll be working with us?"
"You work here too?"
"Jah. I thought you knew that. Isn't that why you wanted the job, Willows?"
Willow stopped still and looked at him. "Nee, not at all."
"Relax! I'm only joking."
"Oh."
"Since when did you get so serious?"
"Over the last two days," Willow said, which caused him to laugh. But she wasn't joking. Finding out that her parents wanted her to marry someone was more than enough for her to lose her sense of humor.
“Are you still going on rumspringa?” Willow asked.
“Yeah, I might. I’ll have to wait and see. What about you? We could run away together.”
Willow giggled. “I’ve only just got the job.”
“So what? If you get the boot, you’ll find another job with your personality.”
“Not when I’ve got no experience. I need this job.”
“No one needs anything except love, that’s what makes the world go ’round.” Liam grabbed her hand and Willow pulled away.
“Stop. People can see.”
“Let’s go behind your buggy so we can hold hands.”
“Nee.” She laughed at him being so cheeky.
“I’ll wear you down yet, Willows.”
“We’ll see. And stop calling me Willows. That’s not my name. If you don’t stop it, I’ll start calling you Liams.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad I’ll be seeing you every day.”
“What do you do here?”
“A bit of this and a bit of that.”
“Tell me what exactly. I’ll have to know, since I’ll be working here.”
“It’s hard to explain. You have to work here to understand what I do. I’ll tell you tomorrow afternoon, after your first day.”
“Okay. Gut.” Willow climbed up into the buggy.
“I’d like to see more of you, Willows. Sorry, I mean Willow.”
“You will. I’ll be here tomorrow. And then at least for a week, unless your vadder gives me a permanent job and then I’ll be here all the time.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I have to go.”
She moved the horse and he grabbed the horse’s cheek strap.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I’ve got things to do and you’ve got to do some work. Your vadder’s probably watching you right now.”
Liam glanced over the horse's back, peering toward the office. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Willow.”
“Bye.” Willow trotted the horse away, pleased that Liam had been flirting with her. It made her feel good about herself to know that he liked her.
A black car drove by her, and it was coming from her house. It was an odd sight to see because they didn’t know any Englischers. Through the dark windows, she saw that an older man with glasses was driving. He looks like a doctor, she thought.
* * *
Excitement about Willow’s new job overtook her curiosity over who was in the black car. She’d find out who he was a bit later. Being too excited to unhitch the buggy, she left it and hurried inside to tell her mother the exciting news.
“I got the job,” Willow called out as she ran into her house.
Her mother came out of the kitchen. “You did?”
“Jah.”
Willow hugged her mother.
“That’s wunderbaar news.”
“It’s a week’s trial, and if I do good, he said he’ll give me the job permanently.”
“Oh, you’ll have to do well.”
“Jah, I will. I’ve always been good at everything I do. And I’m not being prideful, it’s true.”
“The job’s made you happy, so that’s good.”
“I think I’ll like it there. I have to answer the phone and take messages, and probably take orders over the phone, and then I’ll learn to do the paperwork. I like to learn new things. Liam works there too, but I didn’t know that. I knew he worked for his vadder, but I didn’t think he worked at the lumberyard. I thought he did building work.”
Her mother sat down.
“Who was that in the black car just now?”
“Just a doctor. I went for a check-up the other day and I left something at the office and someone was kind enough to drive it to me.”
“What did you leave?”
Her mother looked away. “It’s not important. Now that you’re home, I’ll have a lie down.”
“You’re not sick or anything, are you, Mamm?"
"Just tired. That's all. Don't forget I'm getting older."
"Jah, but you're not that old. You're not sixty or even fifty or anything. Who else will I talk to if you go to bed?"
“Talk to yourself.” Her mother walked toward the stairs.
"Have you been sleeping okay at night, Mamm?"
"I've had a bit of trouble sleeping at night."
"Probably because you've been sleeping during the day. If you didn't sleep in the daytime, then you would be able to sleep better at night."
Nerida put her hand to her forehead. "Willow, your constant chatter is hurting my head. Have you noticed that you speak about three times as much as a normal person? Sometimes it's hard to take."
"Sorry, Mamm. Do you want me to bring some tea up for you or anything?"
Her mother shook her head. "Nee, denke."
Then something struck Willow like a bolt of lightning in a deserted cornfield. Her mother was dying! That's why she was so anxious for Willow to get married. And that was also why her father asked Violet and herself to do extra chores and help their mother. It wasn't because he thought that they weren’t doing enough, it was because their mother was ill and possibly even dying.
All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in her mind, and Willow wondered how she could have missed it. And she'd seen that doctor driving away from the house!
Her mother was normally full of energy and now she often had an afternoon nap. And only old people had those, or very young people. Or sick people. She would have to tell Violet as soon as she came home.
Willow sat on the couch and cried. What was she going to do without a mother? Did her mother want grandchildren before she passed? How soon was she going to die? That must be it; she wanted grandchildren from both her and Violet before she died.
Shou
ld she marry someone just to give her mother grandchildren? If that's what her mother wanted, she'd feel awfully selfish if she didn't give her that gift. After all, Mamm had given her the gift of life. This was one sacrifice she could make for her parents. The only trouble was she had to get to Samuel and stop him from telling his parents that he liked somebody else. She would match herself up with Samuel. He wasn't too bad. In fact, she'd really enjoyed their conversation outside his home.
She scribbled a note to her mother and left it on the kitchen table so she would find it when she woke. Then she went outside, glad she hadn’t unhitched the buggy when she'd gotten home. She hoped Samuel hadn’t told his parents already.
Samuel and his father had a business that made gazebos, with Samuel gradually assuming the management position. Their showroom was close to the Hostetlers’ lumberyard. Could she talk him out of telling his parents that he was interested in someone else? He might become angry with her for changing her mind. She didn't know what to expect.
When she turned into the land that the business was on, she saw Samuel in the distance. Since it was very hot, she parked the buggy in the shade of the building and hurried over to Samuel.
He caught sight of her and walked to meet her. “Hello, Willow. What brings you here?”
“You haven’t told your parents you’re interested in someone else yet, have you?”
He grimaced. “Don’t be mad at me, but I completely forgot.”
“Phew.”
“You’re pleased?”
“Jah.”
“I’m confused. Now you don’t want me to tell my parents I like someone else?”
“That’s right. Not yet.”
“When do you want me to do it?”
“I’m not sure. Can you just not do anything until I talk to you again?”
He frowned at her. “What’s this all about?”
She couldn’t tell him that she was going to have to marry him to give her mother a grandchild before she died. She couldn’t hurt him like that. If she had to marry him, she’d pretend to love him and maybe she might fall in love with him one day. “I can’t say.”
He smiled. “I’m pleased you changed your mind. We should go out together and celebrate—maybe go out to dinner?”
“Maybe. We’re very busy at home at the moment organizing Violet’s wedding. Maybe after that?” Willow mentally patted herself on her back for her fast thinking. By Violet’s wedding, she would’ve gotten down to the bottom of things and found out what her mother was dying from and how long she had to live.
“Too busy for dinner? Surely you have to eat.”
“That’s true.”
“Why don’t I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”
“I’m starting my new job tomorrow and I’ll be a bit tired, most likely.”
“You’re working now?”
“Ach jah. I just got a job today at your uncle's lumberyard. It’s really a trial for a week, so I’ll have to make sure I do a really good job.”
“What about Saturday night? There’ll be no meeting the next day because it’s the second Sunday and you won’t have work the next day.”
She was trapped and couldn’t think of anything on the spot. “Okay, that would be nice. I’ll look forward to it.”
“Me too. Perhaps our parents knew something that we didn’t.”
So much for Mrs. Troyer telling her he liked her. She clearly had made that up or had been mistaken. “You never know.”
“Did you come all the way here just to ask that?”
“Jah.”
“We do have a phone here. You could’ve called.”
“It would have been a strange thing to talk about over the phone.”
He laughed. “That’s true.”
“I better get home to Mamm. She’ll be wondering where I’ve gotten myself to.”
“I’m glad you stopped by.”
Willow nodded, then turned and walked to the buggy. Aunt Nancy was her next stop. If something was wrong with her mother, and if she’d told someone, it would be her sister.
Chapter 6
Willow opened the door and poked her head into her aunt’s house. “Aunt Nancy?”
“Come in, Willow.”
Willow followed her aunt's voice and found Nancy in the kitchen.
Nancy stared up at her from the kitchen table. “You're here by yourself?”
“Jah. I thought I’d stop by because I was just passing on my way back from somewhere.”
“Sit with me. How’s your mudder been?”
Willow sat down. “Why? Do you know something?”
Nancy frowned. “About your mudder?”
“Jah.”
“All I know is that she’s been very tired and very stressed with this wedding coming up.”
“It's not that stressful, is it?” Willow asked.
“You’ll have visitors staying with you, and I’ll have visitors staying here, and that’s a lot besides all the organizing that’s got to be done. I’m helping her with that because I’ve done it a few times before.” Nancy gave a little laugh.
“Would all that make her so tired?”
Nancy drew her eyebrows together. “How tired are we talking?”
“She sleeps for a long time every afternoon.”
“Isn’t she sleeping through the night?”
“That’s what I asked her and she said she’s not sleeping well at night.”
“That’ll do it. Don’t worry so much.”
“Do you think that’s all it is?”
“I’m certain that’s all it is.”
Willow didn’t tell her about the black car she'd seen or her other suspicions. Nancy genuinely had no idea, and that must’ve been how her mother wanted things.
“I got a new job, well, it's my first job, and I start tomorrow at the Hostetlers’ lumberyard.”
“That’s wunderbaar. I didn’t know you were even looking for a job.”
“It happened quite quickly when I was talking with Mrs. Troyer yesterday.”
“Jah, that’s right, her brother owns the lumber yard.”
“It’s only a week’s trial at first, but I’m sure I’ll do well and they’ll want to keep me. Anyway, I was just passing by, and now I better get home and get the evening meal cooked.”
“Denke for stopping by. Don’t worry about your mudder, she’s okay. And she’d need extra sleep if she’s not sleeping at night.”
“Of course, that makes sense. I thought she might be dying. Are you sure she’s okay? I saw a doctor, or a man who looked like a doctor, in a black car driving away from the house.”
Nancy’s eyes widened. “That’s odd.”
“I know.”
“Did you ask her about it?”
“Jah, she said she left something at the doctor’s office when she was having a check-up and they brought it to her. She never goes to the doctor.”
“What did she leave?”
“I asked, but she brushed it aside.”
Nancy shook her head. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“You’re not keeping her illness from me? I won’t tell if they’ve asked you not to say anything.”
“Nee. She’s fine. Stop worrying. If there was anything wrong she would’ve told me, and she hasn’t said a thing.”
“Phew! That’s good. I should head home.” Willow leaned forward and kissed Nancy on the cheek. “See you later.”
“Bye, Willow.”
* * *
When Willow got home there was no sign of her mother, so she raced up to the bedroom and found her just getting out of bed.
“Where have you been, Willow?”
“I went out for awhile. Why? Were you calling me?”
“Jah, I wanted to remind you to put dinner on.”
“Okay, jah. Here I am now and I was just about to do that.”
“Denke. Violet doesn’t get home till later tonight. Nathan is collecting her from work and then they’re going out to dinner somewhe
re. So it's just the three of us.”
As Willow walked down the stairs, she knew it was going to be lonely in the house after Violet got married. It had always been the two of them doing everything together. It was already a little strange to see her spending so much time with Nathan. Willow had taken some time to get used to Nathan and had to admit she had been wrong about him. Although she and Nathan didn’t get along particularly well even now, she knew he was good for Violet.
* * *
Willow waited up that night until Violet came home. In an excited whisper, she told her about the new job and then informed her about the black car and her other suspicions.
“I’ve noticed that she hasn’t been eating very much lately. Do you think she could really be sick?” Violet also whispered so their parents couldn’t hear.
“That’s the only thing I can think of that make sense.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I’ll have to get married, because I know Mamm wants a grandchild before she dies.” Willow sighed.
“You said that you’re not ready to be married.”
“I’m not, but what else can I do?”
“I don’t know. How are we going to find out for certain if she’s sick?” Violet asked.
“Dat would have to know. If he hasn’t told us by now he’s not going to, and I went over to Aunt Nancy’s house today and asked her. I’m sure she doesn’t know anything about it. She said Mamm’s just tired because of all she has to do for your wedding.”
Violet suggested, “Maybe if we got married at the same time, Mamm wouldn’t have to go through two weddings at two different times.”
“Get married on the same day?”
Violet nodded.
“That would be working too fast. You think someone would marry me on the same day as you? That’s only weeks away. That reminds me, Samuel asked me out to dinner on Saturday night.”
"And you said yes?"
"I did."
“That’s good, but you’re right; it probably would be too fast. He’s not going to ask you to marry him the first time you go out with one another. So, you like him now?”
“I liked him a bit better when I talked to him alone, without anyone around. That’s the first time I’ve talked to just him. When anyone’s around he just shuts up.” Willow yawned. “I’m so tired. I better go to bed because I’m gonna wake up and get to work early.”
Amish Willow Page 4
