Lydia's Charm

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  CHAPTER 30

  Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. As soon as Lydia left for work, Mae planned to wash the material for quilts and a few other things that she’d packed away several months ago. Now that she was free to do some sewing again, she wanted the material to be fresh and clean.

  “How late do you have to work today?” Mae asked as she and Lydia finished washing their breakfast dishes.

  “I get off at four.”

  “How would you like to do some quilting with me this evening after we’ve had supper? I’ll have all my material washed and dried by then, and I might even get a little sewing done before you get home.”

  “Maybe some other time, Mom,” Lydia said. “I’m going to the pond with Menno and his boys this evening, remember?”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Mae smiled. “I’m glad you’ll be spending time with Menno. The more I get to know him, the more I’m convinced that he’s really a nice man.”

  Lydia nodded and reached for a clean dish towel to dry her hands. “Guess I’d better go. I don’t want to be late for work.” She grabbed her purse from the counter. “Menno will be picking me up at the restaurant when my shift is over at four, so I won’t see you until he drops me off here later this evening.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll fix myself something simple for supper and spend the rest of the evening at my quilting frame.”

  As soon as Lydia went out the back door, Mae headed downstairs to the cellar, where the washing machine was kept.

  Later, when she brought the clean material outside to hang on the line, she was surprised to see Rueben coming up the driveway in his open buggy.

  “My horse is overheated,” he called to her. “Mind if I use your hose to cool him down?”

  “No problem. Go right ahead!”

  Mae hung the material on the line while Rueben hosed down his horse. When he finished, he strolled across the lawn toward her.

  “Sure is hot out today.” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Never would know that fall’s not far away.”

  “Would you like something cold to drink?” she offered.

  “That’d be much appreciated.”

  “If you’d like to have a seat on the porch, I’ll go in the house and get some iced tea.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Mae hurried into the house. When she returned, she found Rueben sitting in a chair with his eyes closed and his feet propped on the porch railing. He looked so relaxed she hated to disturb him. He looked so handsome, her heart started to pound. She hadn’t felt this giddy since she was a teenager.

  She set the pitcher of iced tea and two glasses on the table, then took a seat in the chair beside him, watching his chest rise and fall. If only she were free to open her heart to him. If Lydia were to marry Menno, then maybe…

  Rueben’s eyes snapped open suddenly, and he blinked a couple of times. “Guess I must have dozed off for a few minutes.”

  “That’s okay. I was trying to be quiet so I didn’t wake you.” Mae motioned to the iced tea. “Are you ready for something cold to drink?”

  “Sure am. I shoed four horses this morning, and then I had some errands to run in Berlin. I only had one bottle of water with me, and when that was gone, I was so busy that I didn’t even think about stopping for something to eat or drink.”

  “In this heat, you’re probably dehydrated.” Mae poured him a glass of iced tea and hurried into the house to get the banana bread she’d made yesterday. “You’d better have some of this,” she said, handing him a slice of the bread. “If you haven’t eaten anything all morning, your blood sugar’s probably low.”

  Rueben gobbled down the bread and gulped the iced tea. “That sure hit the spot. Danki, Mae.”

  “You’re welcome.” She held out the plate of bread again. “Help yourself to another piece.”

  “Don’t mind if I do.” Rueben plucked off a piece and ate it quickly. “This is sure moist and tasty. You’re a real good cook.”

  Mae’s face heated. She wasn’t used to receiving such a compliment, especially from such a nice-looking man. “I’m glad you like it. I substituted honey for sugar, and used whole wheat flour, so it’s a healthy treat.”

  “Are you managing okay financially since your daed died?” Rueben asked, taking their conversation in another direction.

  She nodded, unwilling to admit that even with Lydia working again they were struggling to pay the bills.

  Rueben’s expression turned serious. “I meant what I said the other day. If you need anything—anything at all—just ask.”

  “I appreciate that.” Mae kept her focus on the porch, unable to meet his steady gaze. She wished she wasn’t so attracted to Rueben.

  For the next several minutes they sat in comfortable silence, until Rueben finally set his empty glass down and stood. “I have another horse to shoe this afternoon, so guess I’d better get going.” He smiled at her in such a way that her heart nearly melted. “Thanks again for the snack and for letting me borrow your hose to cool off my horse.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Rueben hesitated, like he wanted to say something more, but then he turned and sprinted across the yard to his horse and buggy.

  “Would you help your daed carry those boxes of dishes from the storage room?” Mom asked Levi.

  “Sure will. I don’t think he should carry them alone.” Levi started for the storage room, where Pop had been working all morning.

  “Oh, and if you get some free time this afternoon, would you look for Andy’s fishing pole?” Mom called.

  Levi turned around. “What does he need it for?”

  “Your daed and I decided that we should all go to the pond this evening, and Andy and Peter want to do some fishing while we’re there. Maybe you’d like to fish awhile, too.”

  “I’ll look for Andy’s pole, but I don’t think I’ll go with you this evening,” Levi said.

  Mom’s eyebrows lifted high on her forehead. “And miss all the good food I’m planning to take?”

  He shrugged. “I can eat something at home.”

  “What about fishing? I know how much you like to fish.”

  “I’m not in the mood to fish.” Levi thought about how Mary Rose Yoder had invited him to the volleyball game this evening, and he’d said he was usually too tired on Saturday evenings to go anywhere. After telling her that he wasn’t going to the volleyball game, would it be wrong to go to the pond with his family? It would be a lot more relaxing than playing volleyball all evening. But if he went to the pond, he might see Lydia, and he wasn’t sure he could deal with seeing her and Menno together.

  “I think you’ll disappoint the boys if you don’t go with us,” Mom added.

  “You’ve got to go, Levi,” Pop said, sticking his head around the storage room door. “We’d like the whole family to be together.”

  Mom nodded. “Your daed and I have been looking forward to spending the evening with our kinner, and it won’t be nearly as much fun if you’re not there.”

  Levi didn’t want to disappoint his folks, so with a sigh of resignation he said, “Okay, I’ll go.”

  “How late are we workin’ today?” John Schwartz, one of Menno’s employees, asked as the two of them sanded the legs of a large, dining room table.

  “Thought I’d close the shop around three. Me and the boys are going to the pond this evening.” Menno smiled. “Lydia King’s going with us. We’ll be picking her up at Grandma’s Restaurant at four o’clock.”

  John’s blue eyes twinkled as he tipped his red head and gave Menno a sly-looking grin. “Is there something going on between you and Lydia?”

  “Not really. We’re just friends.” Menno hoped the eagerness he felt didn’t show on his face.

  “Would you like there to be something more than just friendship between you two?”

  Menno shrugged. “Maybe so, but we’ll have to wait and see how it goes.”

  “Do the boys like her?”

  “
I’m sure they do. I mean, what’s not to like? She’s a good cook, a hard worker, kindhearted, and on top of all that, she looks pretty good in the face.”

  John smiled. “Those are all good things.”

  “Papa, you’d better come quick!” Ike hollered as he raced into the shop.

  Menno’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Kevin’s missin’. We’ve looked everywhere for him!”

  CHAPTER 31

  I’ve got to go look for my boy,” Menno told John. “See if Mark can stop what he’s doing and help you with the table. If I’m not back by three, you can close up the shop.”

  John gave a nod, and Menno rushed out the door behind Ike.

  When they reached the house, Menno found Dennis and Carl sitting on the front porch.

  “When Ike came to get me, he said Kevin went missing.” Menno touched Carl’s shoulder. “Where’d you last see your little brother?”

  “Can’t remember.”

  Menno looked at Dennis. “What about you? Do you know where Kevin might be?”

  Dennis dropped his gaze and scraped the toe of his boot on the step below him. “We…uh…was all playin’ in the barn, and then…” He looked over at Ike. “You tell him what happened.”

  Menno ground his teeth together. “Were you boys up to some kind of mischief?”

  Ike shook his head. “I was muckin’ out the horse stalls, the way you told me to do, and then I heard this commotion goin’ on in the main part of the barn.”

  “What kind of commotion?”

  Ike pointed at Carl and then at Dennis. “They had a rope tied around Kevin’s waist, and said he had to be their horse. They were makin’ him pull the wagon with a bunch of bricks in it.”

  “The bricks I asked you boys to move for me?”

  Dennis and Carl both nodded.

  “Figured it’d get done quicker if we used the wagon,” Dennis mumbled.

  “That’s fine, but you shouldn’t have expected Kevin to pull a wagon full of bricks. That was way too heavy for him.”

  “I told ’em that,” Ike said, “but they kept tryin’ to make Kevin pull the wagon, and then he started bawlin’ like a wounded heifer.” His face contorted. “Finally got sick of watchin’ it, and so I untied Kevin.”

  “Then what happened?” Menno asked.

  “Kevin ran out of the barn,” Dennis interjected. “Then after Ike got our sandwiches made and called us into the house for lunch, everyone but Kevin came.”

  Ike nodded. “So we all started lookin’, but we couldn’t find him anywhere.”

  “Where did you look?” Menno questioned.

  “In the barn, in the house, in the buggy shed.” Dennis pointed to the field of corn growing beside their place. “We even looked out there, and also up the road apiece, but Kevin’s just vanished.”

  “Well, he has to be someplace. Are you sure you looked everywhere?” Menno’s fears mounted, and he sent up a quick prayer. What if Kevin had wandered up the road and got hit by a car? What if…?

  “I know one place we didn’t look,” Ike said.

  “Where’s that?”

  “In the cellar.”

  “Don’t think Kevin would go down there,” Carl said. “He gets scared when he’s in the dark.”

  Menno knew Carl was right. Kevin had been afraid of the dark since he was a toddler. Even so, if he wanted to get away from his brothers badly enough, he may have braved the dark cellar.

  “I’ll get the big flashlight I keep by my bed,” Menno said. “Then we’ll check out the cellar.”

  Menno took the stairs two at a time and hurried down the hall toward his bedroom. When he opened the door, he halted. The bottom drawer of the oversized dresser he’d given Sadie for Christmas two years ago was wide open. Kevin was sleeping in it, his legs and one arm dangling over the edge. In his other hand he held a woman’s handkerchief.

  The drawer held some of Sadie’s hankies, along with several old letters she’d written to Menno when they were courting. After Sadie died, he’d kept them for sentimental reasons.

  He bent down and gently shook the boy.

  Kevin’s eyes popped open, and he sat up quickly and looked around. “Wh–where am I?”

  “You’re in my room, in the dresser drawer.”

  Kevin quirked an eyebrow. “What am I doin’ in here?”

  Menno shook his head “You tell me.”

  “Let me think.” Kevin rubbed his forehead and puckered his lips. “Well…uh…Dennis and Carl tied me up and tried to make me pull the wagon with bricks in it.”

  “So I heard.”

  “Then Ike made ’em let me go, and I—I ran out of the barn and came up here.” Kevin dropped his gaze. “Guess I must’ve conked out.”

  “Why were you sleeping in the drawer?” Menno asked, raising the boy’s chin.

  “Wanted to be near Mama’s things.” Kevin lifted the hanky in his hand and held it against his nose. “Thought maybe I could smell Mama on her things. It’s real lonely without her.”

  Menno’s throat constricted. Kevin obviously still missed his mother.

  He gathered Kevin into his arms and gently patted his back. If he gave his boys a new mother, they’d never have to be home by themselves, and they wouldn’t be lonely anymore.

  Lydia glanced at the clock on the restaurant wall. It was four o’clock—time for her shift to end—and time for Menno to pick her up for their picnic supper at the pond. She grasped the picnic basket she’d prepared for them and went outside to wait in the parking lot.

  A few minutes later, Menno guided his horse and buggy into the parking lot. He handed Ike the reins, hopped down, and helped Lydia into the buggy.

  “Are we late?” Menno asked, taking his seat beside her.

  “No, you’re right on time.”

  Menno grunted. “Kevin went missing this afternoon, and I thought for a while I might have to cancel our plans for this evening.”

  “Where’d you find him?” Lydia asked.

  “Sleeping in a dresser drawer in my room.” Menno rolled his eyes as he slowly shook his head. “Never know from one minute to the next what my boys are gonna do.”

  “Josh was like that, too. Always rambunctious and full of curiosity.” She sighed. “I still miss him so much.”

  “Of course you do, but hopefully the pain of losing him will ease in time.”

  “I…I hope so.”

  “Papa, Dennis is pokin’ me,” Carl hollered from the back seat.

  “Stop poking your bruder,” Menno called over his shoulder.

  “He poked me first.”

  “Did not.”

  “Did so.”

  “No, you poked me first.”

  A muscle in Menno’s cheek quivered. “It doesn’t matter who started it. Just sit back and be quiet, and please keep your hands to yourself.”

  They rode in silence until the pond came into view. When Menno stopped the horse, the boys hopped down from the buggy.

  “I’m hungerich!” Kevin shouted. “Can we eat right now?”

  Menno looked over at Lydia. “What do you say? Should we feed these hungry buwe?”

  “I don’t see why not,” she said with a nod.

  Menno helped Lydia set the food and paper plates on the blanket he’d brought along, and after their silent prayer, everyone dug in.

  The boys jabbered as they ate, and every once in a while one of them poked the other or let out a loud burp.

  “What do you say?” Menno asked, looking at Dennis, who’d just released a disgustingly noisy burp.

  “It’s better to burp and be in…”

  Menno pointed his finger at the boy. “That’s not what you’re supposed to say, and you know it.”

  “You’re s’posed to say, ‘excuse me.’ ” Ike thumped Dennis’s shoulder.

  Dennis wrinkled his nose. “Get your hands off me.”

  Ike thumped Dennis’s shoulder again. “Aw, I ain’t hurtin’ ya none.”

  “Are so
.”

  “Am not.”

  “Are so.”

  Menno clapped his hands so hard that Lydia jumped. “That’s enough!” He looked over at Lydia with a sheepish expression. “Sorry for yelling. Didn’t mean to startle you, but the boys were getting on my nerves.”

  “Maybe we should get busy fishin’,” Carl said. “That way we can’t get on anyone’s nerves.”

  “Good idea,” Menno said. “Get your fishing poles from the back of the buggy.”

  “Can ya help me bait my hook?” Kevin asked, looking up at Menno with his big brown eyes.

  “Sure.”

  Dennis, Carl, and Kevin raced over to the buggy and grabbed their fishing poles. Menno followed them to the pond. Lydia expected Ike to join them, but he remained seated on the blanket beside her.

  “Aren’t you going to fish with your brothers?” Lydia asked.

  “Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. Not sure what I’m gonna do yet.”

  Unsure of what to say, Lydia started putting their leftovers in the picnic basket.

  “You like my daed?”

  Lydia almost dropped the paper cups she held. “Of course. He seems like a very nice man.”

  “He snores real loud when he’s sleepin’. He also picks his teeth with the end of a paper clip. Oh, and sometimes, instead of usin’ a napkin, he lets our hund lick his dirty fingers.”

  Lydia grimaced. Why was Ike telling her these things? Surely the boy had to be exaggerating.

  “Hey, Ike,” Menno called. “Come on over here and do some fishing with us. You, too, Lydia.”

  Lydia rose to her feet, but Ike just sat there with his arms folded.

  When Lydia approached the water, she bent down to see how the boys were doing, and—Swish!—Dennis snagged her head covering with his fishing hook, pulling it right off her head.

  Lydia grabbed for it, pulled the hook carefully out, and put her covering back on her head, relieved that there wasn’t a big hole in it.

  Menno shook his finger at Dennis. “I think you’d better apologize to Lydia for not watching what you were doing.”

  “Sorry,” Dennis mumbled.