Before Menno could respond, Kevin bounded out of the barn and leaped onto the porch. “Come see the busslin, Papa!”
“In a minute, son. I’m talkin’ to Lydia right now.”
Kevin tugged on Menno’s shirtsleeve. “Kumme, before they run away.”
Menno grunted as he rose from the swing. “Guess I’d better have a look at those kittens,” he said to Lydia.
She gave a nod. “You go ahead. We can talk later.”
A few minutes went by, and Mom stepped out the door with a tray of chocolate chip cookies, a jug of milk, and some paper cups. “Where’s Menno?” she asked as she placed the tray on a table near the door.
“He went to the barn to look at the kittens,” Lydia replied.
“How come you didn’t go with him?”
“I’ve seen the kittens plenty of times and thought it would be nice just to sit here and relax.”
Mom motioned to the tray she’d brought out. “Help yourself to some cookies.”
“No thanks, I’m not hungry.”
“How about some milk?”
“I’m fine, Mom.”
Mom seated herself in one of the chairs on the porch. “It was nice of Menno to stop by, don’t you think?”
“Uh-huh.” Lydia leaned against the porch swing and closed her eyes.
“Don’t fall asleep. I’m sure Menno will be back any minute, and you don’t want to be rude.”
Lydia’s eyes snapped open. “I wasn’t planning to sleep. I’m just trying to relax.”
“Oh.”
Lydia was relieved when Mom didn’t say anything more. She turned her attention to a robin tugging on a fat worm it had pulled from the grass.
Several minutes later, with a whoop and a holler, Menno’s boys and Josh raced from the barn. Menno lagged behind. When they stepped onto the porch, Mom motioned to the tray. “Please, help yourselves.”
The boys grabbed a handful of cookies and ran back into the yard, hollering and chasing each other around the maple trees.
Menno took two cookies and a cup of milk, then sat beside Lydia on the swing. “The cookies are good,” he said after he’d taken a bite. “Did you make ’em, Lydia?”
“No, Mom did. Since I’m working full-time I don’t have time to do much baking.”
“I’m just thankful you have a job, because one of us needs to be working right now,” Mom said.
Just then, Josh and Kevin bounded onto the porch, each holding a kitten. “Can I take this busslin home?” Kevin asked, holding the kitten out to his father.
Menno shook his head. “We’ve got enough to deal with at our place right now without havin’ to worry about a kitten underfoot.”
Kevin thrust out his lower lip. “Dennis and Ike have a hund. Why can’t I have a bussli?”
“Ike and Dennis are old enough to take care of their dog,” Menno said. “You and Carl can’t even keep your toys picked up.”
“You can come here and see the kittens anytime you like,” Mom said, smiling at Kevin. “Why don’t you bring the boys here for supper on Saturday evening?” she added, looking at Menno.
He smiled. “That’d be real nice.”
Mom looked down at Josh. “See now, you can play with the boys when they come over on Saturday.”
Josh nodded eagerly and gave Kevin a big grin. “Ich schpiele gem.”
“I like to play, too,” Kevin said.
The boys grabbed two more cookies, tromped down the steps, and joined the others chasing each other around the trees.
“It’s sure hot out today,” Ike shouted as he thumped Dennis on the back. “Wish we woulda brought some balloons along, ’cause we coulda put water in ’em and then pitched the balloons at each other to cool off.”
“I’m glad they didn’t bring any balloons,” Menno mumbled. “The last time they played with water balloons, Kevin started bawling because the others ganged up on him.” He grabbed another cookie and dunked it in his milk. “Then Ike threw a balloon that landed on the porch, and I slipped in the water, fell, and skinned my knees.”
“I don’t know how you manage to keep up with four active boys,” Mom said. “Makes me almost glad Lydia was an only child.”
Lydia was tempted to comment on that but chose to remain silent. Truth was, she’d always wished she’d had a few siblings. Unfortunately, Mom’s uterus had been damaged when Lydia was born, so she wasn’t able to have more children.
Menno grimaced. “Almost every day, I wonder how much longer I can keep up with my boys. But I love ’em, and we try to make the best of our situation.”
The boys continued to romp around the yard, playing with the kittens and chasing each other in a game of tag. Every once in a while, Menno hollered something at one of them; then he turned to Lydia and said, “Gotta stay on those boys all the time.”
I think Menno’s boys need a mother more than Josh needs a father, Lydia mused. I wonder if Menno will ever get married again.
CHAPTER 20
Are you sure you won’t change your mind and go with us?” Lydia asked Mom as she and Josh prepared to leave for the Stutzmans’.
Mom shook her head. “I’ve got a koppweh, and I wouldn’t be good company this evening.”
“I’m sorry to hear you have a headache. Is there anything I can do for you before Josh and I leave?”
Mom flapped her hand. “I’ll be fine. Besides, it’ll be kind of nice to spend some quiet time alone.”
Josh tugged on Lydia’s hand. “Can I take my bussli to show Levi and his brieder?”
Lydia shook her head. “If Levi and his brothers want to see the kittens, they’ll have to come over here.”
Josh’s eyes brightened. “Mariye?”
She patted the top of his head. “Probably not tomorrow, but they’ll come over sometime, I’m sure.”
As Nona rushed around the kitchen getting supper ready, her heart swelled with hope. Lydia and Josh would be here soon, and from the way Levi had been whistling for the last hour, she had a hunch he was looking forward to their visit even more than she was. Could it be because he’d taken an interest in Josh, or did Levi have his eye on the boy’s mother?
Nona couldn’t help but hope for the latter. Despite Levi’s insistence that he would never marry, she had a hunch that he really wanted to fall in love and start a family of his own. From the short time Nona had known her, she’d concluded that Lydia would make a good wife. She seemed to be hardworking, even-tempered, and a good mother to Josh. She liked to laugh and have a good time. She also seemed to accept Levi’s family for who they were and didn’t appear to be the least bit put off by their small stature. Lydia was nothing like her mother, who seemed to want to keep her distance.
I wonder if Mae will come with Lydia and Josh this evening, Nona thought as she opened the oven to check on the roast. If Mae got to know us, maybe she wouldn’t be so standoffish.
“Do you want us to start setting the table yet?” Betty asked when she and Selma entered the kitchen.
Nona smiled. Such thoughtful girls she had. “That’s a good idea. Then we’ll be ready when our company gets here.”
“How come we’re having Lydia and Josh over again?” Selma wanted to know. “They’ve never had all of us to their house for supper, just Levi.”
Nona shook her finger. “We don’t have others for supper in the hopes of getting an invitation to eat at their house.”
“That’s right,” Betty put in. “Besides, Lydia and her mamm are having a hard time financially right now. They probably can’t afford to feed a bunch of people.”
Nona’s eyes narrowed. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Heard you telling Levi and Pop about it the other day at the store.”
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“No, Mom. I was coming out of the back room and heard you say that Lydia had asked her boss for extra hours because she needed more money.”
Nona guessed she couldn’t reprimand Betty for overhearing the conversation she’d
had with Levi and Harold. After all, she herself, had overheard the conversation Lydia and her boss had been having, and she hadn’t intentionally been listening. “Well girls, just be sure you don’t mention what you heard to anyone,” Nona said. “We don’t want rumors getting started in our community, and we don’t want Lydia to think I invited them for supper because I feel sorry about their situation.”
“We won’t mention it to anyone,” Betty said.
Selma nodded. “Will Lydia’s mamm be comin’ with them this evening?”
Nona shrugged. “I don’t know, but I hope so.”
“Guess we’ll know soon enough,” Betty said, looking out the window. “A horse and buggy’s coming up the lane right now.”
As soon as Lydia pulled her horse and buggy to a stop, Josh scrambled out of the buggy and raced across the yard to the swing set, where Levi’s brother Andy was playing.
A few seconds later, Levi stepped out of the barn. “I’ll take care of your horse,” he said to Lydia.
“Danki, I appreciate that.” Levi seemed like such a thoughtful man. In many ways he reminded her of Jeremiah—kind, easygoing, and full of good humor. She wondered why Levi wasn’t married. Surely some woman should have set her kapp for him by now.
Levi led Buttercup into the barn, and Lydia followed. “I see your mamm didn’t come with you,” he said.
“Mom came down with a koppweh, so she stayed home to rest.”
He put the horse in one of the empty stalls. “Sorry to hear she has a headache. Mom will be disappointed that she couldn’t come.”
“Maybe some other time.” Truth was, Lydia doubted that Mom would ever come here for supper.
“Shall we get the boys and head up to the house?” Levi asked after he’d brushed the horse down and given her some water to drink. “Everyone else is inside, and I’m sure Mom has supper ready by now.”
Lydia followed Levi out of the barn and across the yard. When they approached the swings, Levi told the boys it was time to go inside.
“Aw, do we have to?” Andy wrinkled his nose. “Josh and me were gonna play with my gees awhile.”
“Maybe you can play with the goat after supper.” Levi thumped Andy’s shoulder. “Mom’s fixing roast beef and mashed potatoes tonight. You wouldn’t want to miss out on that, now would you?”
“No way!” Andy grabbed Josh’s hand, and they ran toward the house as fast as their short legs would take them.
“Roast beef sounds good,” Lydia said as she and Levi stepped onto the porch.
He jiggled his eyebrows playfully and grinned at her. “Mom didn’t want you to think the only thing she could cook was Frogmore Stew.”
Lydia laughed. “I’d never heard of Frogmore Stew before that night, but it was sure good—and fun to eat.”
“We’re all about having fun around here,” Levi said as he opened the back door for Lydia.
When they stepped into the kitchen, Lydia was greeted with the tantalizing aroma of freshly cooked beef. She glanced at the table, which was set with plates and silverware.
Nona’s face broke into a wide smile. “It’s good to see you again, Lydia. We’re glad you could come.”
“Josh and I are glad to be here,” Lydia said. “We appreciate your inviting us to join you for supper again.”
“I’m sorry your mamm’s not with you. Did she have other plans for this evening?” Nona asked.
Lydia explained about Mom having a headache, and then she asked if there was anything she could do to help with the meal.
“Nope, not a thing.” Nona motioned to the table. “Everything’s on, and we’ll be ready to eat as soon as Harold and the others get washed up.”
Lydia looked down at Josh. “I think you’d better wash your hands, don’t you?”
“I’ll take him to the bathroom,” Andy offered.
“Andy, you be sure and wash, too, and don’t forget to use soap,” Nona called as the boys bounded out of the room.
When they gathered around the table a short time later, Lydia asked Harold how he was doing.
He lifted his arm and grinned. “Real well. I’ll be getting the cast off in another week or so.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Everyone bowed for prayer. When it was over, Nona passed the platter of roast beef.
As they ate the meal, plenty of conversation and a few jokes were shared around the table—mostly from Harold and Nona, although Levi contributed a joke he’d heard recently, as well.
“Why don’t eggs tell each other jokes?” he asked Josh.
Josh shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Because they’d crack each other up.”
Everyone but Josh laughed. Lydia wasn’t sure he’d understood Levi’s joke.
Harold looked over at Lydia. “Have there been a lot of tourists at the restaurant since you’ve been working there?”
“I’m really not sure. I haven’t figured out how to tell the difference between a tourist and someone who lives in the area,” she replied.
“Many times a tourist will have a camera with ’em, and some of the things they say can be a dead giveaway.”
“Like what?”
“Well, the other day a man and his wife came into the store, and I knew right away that they were tourists when the woman said she’d noticed that she’d seen lights on our Amish buggies and wanted to know if the buggies had batteries in them. I told her they did, and then her husband bobbed his head a few times and said, ‘I told ya so, Helen. I knew those horses couldn’t pull such big buggies all by themselves.” Harold leaned his head back and roared. “Can you believe anyone would actually think such a thing?”
Lydia, wondering if the story was true, looked over at Nona for confirmation.
Nona nodded and grinned. “It’s true all right; I was there when those English tourists came in.”
Lydia snickered. She guessed she’d have to listen better to what some of her restaurant customers said. Maybe after she’d worked there awhile, she’d have some humorous stories to share with the Stutzmans.
“Can Andy come over to see my bussli tomorrow?” Josh asked around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
Andy looked at Levi with a hopeful expression. “Can ya take me over there tomorrow?”
Levi nodded. “Not until evening, though. I’ll be working at the store all day.”
Lydia was about to say that tomorrow would be fine, but then she remembered that Mom had invited Menno and his boys for supper. “Actually, we have other plans for tomorrow evening,” she told Levi. “Could you come by to see the kittens on Sunday afternoon?”
“Sure, that’ll be fine.”
“All this talk about Andy seeing Josh’s kittens makes me think about a story I heard the other day,” Harold said.
“What story’s that?” his ten-year-old son Peter asked.
“Well, it seems that a little boy lost his kitten.” Harold paused to push his glasses back in place. “Anyway, the boy’s daed decided to call the sheriff to see if he could help find the kitten. He was told that looking for a kitten wasn’t a job for the sheriff, and he was too busy for that.” Harold leaned closer to Josh with a serious expression. “You know what the man said?”
Josh shook his head.
“He said, ‘You don’t understand, Sheriff. This is a very smart kitten. He’s so smart he can almost talk.’ Then the sheriff said, ‘Well, mister, you’d better hang up the phone, ’cause that clever little kitten might be tryin’ to call you right now.’ ”
Everyone laughed, especially Harold. If there was one thing Lydia had come to realize about Levi’s family, it was that they liked to laugh at their own jokes.
The rest of the evening went much the same—filled with lively banter and lots of good food.
When Lydia saw the clock and realized how late it was getting she said it was time for her and Josh to go home.
Josh’s chin jutted out. “But me and Andy didn’t get to play with the gees.”
“
You can do that the next time you come over,” Nona said. She hurriedly put some of the leftovers, including three pieces of chocolate cake, into a box and insisted that Lydia take it home with her.
“Danki for the delicious meal,” Lydia said. “We had a really good time.”
Nona smiled and stood on her tiptoes to give Lydia a hug. “You’re more than welcome. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”
All heads nodded in agreement.
“Don’t forget to come see my bussli,” Josh said to Andy as they headed out the door.
“Sunndaag.” Andy grinned widely. “I’ll see ya on Sunndaag afternoon.”
“I’ll get your horse and buggy.” Levi hurried past Lydia and headed to the barn.
By the time Lydia and Josh got there, Levi had taken Buttercup out and was hitching her to the buggy.
Once again, Lydia appreciated Levi’s kindness. But then, was it any wonder he was so kind and helpful? His folks had obviously set a good example for Levi and his siblings, who’d been most gracious this evening.
When Levi bent down and scooped Josh up, Josh wrapped his arms around Levi’s neck. “Wish I could stay here,” he said, nuzzling Levi’s cheek with his nose. “Wish you were my daed.”
Levi’s cheeks flamed. Lydia could only imagine how embarrassed he must be.
“Say good-bye to Levi,” she said, reaching for Josh. “We need to get home now.”
“Bye, Levi,” Josh said, before she placed him in the buggy.
“See you on Sunday.” Levi lifted his hand in a wave. “Drive safely.”
Lydia climbed into the driver’s side and took up the reins. She’d need to have a talk with Josh on the way home about his comment to Levi. It wouldn’t be good for Josh to get any ideas about Levi becoming his father, because from what she could tell, Levi saw her as nothing more than a friend.
“Is Daadi in heaven?” Josh asked suddenly.
“Jah, I believe he is.”
“Wish I could go to heaven and visit Daadi and Urgrossvadder.”
Before Lydia could think of a response, the buggy began to wobble. When it tipped toward one side, she wondered if the right front wheel had come loose.
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