Amish Cooking Class--The Blessing

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Heidi yawned. She felt done in from the day’s activities and wished she could take a nap. But Lyle would be home soon, and she needed to get supper ready. Maybe later this evening they’d fix hot apple cider and sit by the fire and talk. She would share with him all the events of the day, including the visit with Kendra.

  Chapter 25

  Dover

  When Allie stepped onto Lisa’s front porch, she began to have second thoughts. Bringing a puppy into their house might not be a good idea, after all. Prissy would see the dog as an intruder, and the pup may not care for the cat. But it was too late to change her mind now. She’d already told her kids if they liked the dog they could have it. Nola and Derek stood beside her now, giggling and bouncing on tiptoes.

  When Lisa opened the door, Allie introduced her to the children.

  “It’s nice to meet you. The puppy’s in the kitchen. Follow me. I’ll lead the way.”

  When they entered the room, Allie spotted the pup inside a small cage. The children saw him right away, too, and dropped to their knees in front of the enclosure.

  “Can we take him out?” Derek looked up at Lisa expectantly.

  “Sure, but let me close the kitchen door first. I don’t want the little stinker running all over the house.” Lisa wrinkled her nose. “Trouble—that’s what I call him—has been known to make messes when left unattended.”

  Allie groaned inwardly. In addition to worrying about how the cat and dog would get along, she’d have to work at getting the puppy housebroken and trained not to chew on everything in sight. Then there was the issue of what to do with the animal during the day while she and Steve were at work and the kids were in school. I should have thought all this through before I opened my mouth—first to Lisa, saying we’d come look at the pup—and then to Derek and Lola, offering to let them have the dog. Allie wondered if her common sense had gone out the window lately.

  After Lisa closed the kitchen door, she lifted the latch on the cage. The pup bounded out and headed straight for Nola. As soon as the child reached out to pet the dog, he slurped the end of her nose. She giggled. “Look, Mommy, the puppy likes me.”

  In all the excitement, the puppy made a wet spot on the floor. “Oh, oh.” Nola looked sheepishly up at Lisa. “Sorry he did that.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it.” Lisa went to get a paper towel. “This little pup is still a baby and will need some training.”

  Allie was on the verge of changing her mind about taking the puppy home, but she remembered her childhood dog. Her parents had been so patient with the little mistakes Rascal made, but everyone was happy when Allie eventually got the puppy trained. At least she had to give her children a chance and see how they handled this new responsibility.

  “Mommy,” Nola said quietly, “does the puppy making a mess mean we can’t take him home?”

  “I’m still thinking about it.”

  Nola clung to Allie’s hand. “Please, Mommy. I like the dog.”

  “You realize that you and your brother will have to take care of Trouble and help me get him housebroken as soon as possible.”

  “Oh, we will Mommy,” Nola shouted.

  “We promise.” Derek got into the act, clapping his hands and calling for the pup. Wiggling and wagging his tail, Trouble nuzzled the boy’s hand and then crawled into his lap.

  Derek grinned, looking up at Allie. “I think he likes us, Mommy. Can we take him home now?”

  Nola’s head bobbed up and down as she reached over and stroked the puppy’s head.

  Allie pinched the bridge of her nose. It looked like she had no choice. “If it’s okay with Lisa, then Trouble will have a new home at our house.”

  Lisa smiled. “Sounds good. I’m sure he’ll be much happier there, with children to play with, then he would living here with me.”

  As they were getting into the van a short time later, Allie’s cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, and seeing it was Steve, she quickly answered.

  “Hi, hon. Just wanted you to know not to expect me for supper this evening.”

  “Oh? How come? You said this morning that you’d be home early today.”

  “I thought so then, but something’s come up, so I will be working later than I thought. I’ll grab something to eat before I head home. Oh, and if you get tired waiting for me, go on to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  In the morning? Allie positioned herself behind the steering wheel, grabbing it tightly with both hands. I wonder if Steve’s with that female officer again. Is he really working, or could they be having an affair?

  Walnut Creek

  After Lance left Heidi’s, he’d run a few errands in Berlin and stopped to eat lunch at the Farmstead Restaurant. He wasn’t in a hurry to go home but couldn’t stay away any longer because he wanted to work on the photo albums he’d been putting together to give his daughters for Christmas. He’d set a box of pictures on his desk in the kitchen before he left for the cooking class this morning and planned to go through it this afternoon before starting supper. He especially wanted to find some pictures of Flo, beginning with when she was a girl, all the way up to when she’d married him. He was sure Terry and Sharon would treasure the albums filled with memories of their loving mother.

  Lance pulled into his yard and hit the remote to open the garage door. It was nice to be able to pull right into the garage again. After having that talk with Dan, he was no longer blocking the garage door with his vehicle. Now if he could just convince his brother to move into Lisa’s duplex when it was ready, things would be better all the way around.

  When Lance entered the house, his nose twitched. Do I smell paint? The odor permeated the house, but seemed to be stronger the closer he got to the kitchen. He stepped into the room and halted, mouth hanging open. The kitchen walls had been repainted a drab beige. If the stench and putrid color wasn’t bad enough, the box of photos was no longer on his desk. Everything that had been hanging on the walls now lay on the table. There was no doubt who’d done it, either. The question was why?

  Following the sound of the new TV, Lance marched into the living room. Holding the remote in one hand, and a can of soda pop in the other, Dan sat on the couch with his feet propped on the coffee table.

  Lance’s jaw clenched as he squinted at his brother. “What possessed you to paint my kitchen without my permission?”

  “It needed painting, so I figured I’d surprise you.”

  “Oh, I’m surprised all right.” Lance slapped his hands against his hips. “Flo liked the cheerful yellow color in our kitchen, and so did I.”

  Dan blinked rapidly. “Sorry if I overstepped my bounds. I thought it was time for a change, and those yellow walls seemed too bright.”

  “I like it bright. So did Flo.”

  “Okay, okay … Don’t panic.” Dan held up both hands, as if to surrender. “I’ll paint it back. In fact, I’ll start on it tomorrow while you’re in church.”

  “I’d hoped you might go to church with me.”

  Dan shook his head. “You know how I feel about church. Have ever since we were teenagers and someone in the congregation got really upset because the new carpet wasn’t the color they wanted. They were so mad they ended up leaving. Then someone else left, and pretty soon half the church members were gone.”

  Lance clenched his teeth. “That’s a dumb reason to quit going to church. People are people, and not everyone attending church is perfect. In fact, none of us are. We’re all humans with bad habits and differing opinions.”

  Dan lifted his pop can to his lips, took a drink, and placed it on the side table. “Say what you like, but I’m not goin’ with you tomorrow. Besides, there’s a football game I want to watch.”

  “How are you gonna do that if you’re repainting the kitchen?”

  “I’ll paint during halftime, or turn up the TV so I can hear the score from the kitchen.”

  Lance figured he wouldn’t get anywhere with his brother, so he left the living room and headed
to his bedroom to hopefully get away from the paint smell. The last thing he wanted was to say something to Dan that he might regret later on, but now Lance was more determined than ever for his brother to move out. Think I’ll give Heidi a call and leave a message, asking if she’ll give me Lisa’s phone number. If I have to, I’ll go over to the duplex she wants to rent and help her get the place in shape so Dan can move in.

  Remembering the pictures he’d left on his desk this morning, Lance returned to the living room. “What’d you do with the box of photos that were on my desk in the kitchen?”

  Dan sat staring at the television as though he hadn’t heard a word Lance said.

  Lance’s jaw and facial muscles tightened as he positioned himself between his brother and the television.

  “Hey! What’d you do that for?” Dan’s eyes narrowed. “You’re blocking my view of the TV.”

  “I’m standing here to get your attention, because you didn’t answer when I asked a question.” Lance crossed his arms, refusing to budge from his spot.

  Dan’s forehead wrinkled as he leaned his head to one side, as if hoping to see around Lance. “What was your question?”

  “I asked what you did with the box of photos that were on my desk in the kitchen. I set it there this morning so I could work on the albums I’m making for my daughters.”

  “Let me think …” Dan scratched his head. “Oh, yeah, now I remember. I put the box in the utility room, on top of the dryer. Didn’t want to get any paint on the pictures, so I figured I’d better get them out of the kitchen.”

  “Okay; good thinking.” Well, at least his brother had done one thing right. If those pictures had gotten ruined, Lance would feel sick.

  Then Dan added, “I hope you don’t mind, but I ended up looking through the pictures and sorted them by category for you. You know, family, places you’ve been—that sort of thing.”

  “What?” Lance never felt so exasperated in his life. “Didn’t you look on the back of those photos?”

  “No. Why would I?”

  “Well, I have the year the photo was taken written on the back of each one.” Clutching his shirt collar, Lance inhaled a long breath. “Now I’ll have to re-sort them again, by the year. That’s how I wanted them.” Lance watched for his brother’s reaction, but Dan gave none. “Oh, never mind.” No use trying to get through to him.

  “Are you done now? Can I finish watching my show?”

  “Sure, Dan, we’ll talk later.” Lance plastered a smile on his face, but inside, his anger boiled like a pot of pasta cooking on the stove. Who does my brother think he is, anyhow? He has no respect for my things at all.

  Lance wanted to talk to his brother about moving into Lisa’s duplex right away, but since he was a bit overwrought right now, he figured this wasn’t a good time. Dan was already giving him an icy stare, and if he missed any more of his TV program, he’d probably blow his top.

  Lance entered his room and flopped onto the bed. Sure hope I have better luck getting Dan to move out than I have with getting him to go to church.

  Charm, Ohio

  “I hope you like Bavarian-style food.” Todd pulled his sports car into Chalet in the Valley restaurant’s parking lot and smiled at Lisa. “I’ve been here once, but not since they got a new cook, so I’m anxious to try the place out again.” After the cooking class today, Todd had asked her again if he could take her out. Against her better judgment, Lisa agreed and had even let him choose the restaurant.

  “If you haven’t been here in a while, how do you know they’ve hired a new cook?” she questioned.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Guess someone must have mentioned it to me.” Todd got out of the car and hurried around to help Lisa before she could exit on her own. She wasn’t used to getting in or out of such a small vehicle, so she appreciated his gesture. In fact, ever since Todd picked her up in Dover, he’d been the perfect gentleman.

  Guess I ought to give him a chance, Lisa told herself as they walked to the restaurant’s entrance. She wasn’t sure why, but she’d taken extra care with what to wear this evening, and had even put on a little extra makeup. She’d chosen a simple, dark blue dress, which brought out the color of her eyes. Lisa also added a matching silver necklace, adorned with a heart-shaped blue sapphire that sparkled when the light hit it.

  As they entered the building, Todd rested his hand gently against the small of Lisa’s back. He was certainly a gentleman this evening. Perhaps he wasn’t as self-centered as she’d originally thought.

  Once inside, the hostess, wearing a Bavarian-style dress, showed them to a table near the window. The restaurant, as well as the town, seemed quaint and appealing. If not for the need to be closer to the bigger towns for her catering business, Lisa thought she could be happy living in a small community like this. There was something about the area here that reminded her of pictures she’d seen of Switzerland in magazines and travel brochures. Someday it would be fun to travel to Europe and see the real Switzerland for herself. Until, and unless, that day ever came, she’d be content to visit a place such as this, here in the scenic Doughty Valley.

  “You look very pretty tonight.”

  Lisa’s cheeks grew warm. Todd’s compliment caught her off guard. “Thanks.” You look nice, too, she wanted to add, but couldn’t bring herself to say it.

  He grinned at her from across the table. “So what appeals to you?” Todd pointed to Lisa’s menu.

  “I’m not sure yet.” Lisa perused the list of dinner choices. She hadn’t eaten lunch today, so at the moment, nearly everything appealed. Lisa noticed near the bottom of the menu it stated that the chef used local products in many of the deliciously authentic recipes.

  “The wiener schnitzel sounds good to me.” Todd took a drink of water. “Think I’ll have that.”

  Lisa continued to study the menu, then decided on a ham-and-swiss sandwich, with a side order of sauerkraut.

  After placing their orders, they talked about the cooking class and how things had gone that morning.

  “We’re certainly a group of diversified students.” Lisa took a drink from her glass of water.

  Todd bobbed his head. “I’ll say. What’d you think of Nicole’s meltdown?”

  “I feel sorry for her. Sounds like she’s having a hard time dealing with her family situation.”

  “Yeah, it’s too bad ’cause she’s still just a kid and shouldn’t have to shoulder so much responsibility.”

  Lisa was pleased to hear the compassion in Todd’s tone of voice. Maybe he was nicer than she’d originally thought. With his good looks and intelligence, she was surprised he wasn’t married, or at least romantically involved with someone. If Todd was seeing another woman, surely he wouldn’t have asked her out or danced cheek-to-cheek with her at his friend’s wedding reception. Or would he? Some men liked to play the field. Todd might be one of them.

  When their food came, Lisa pushed her thoughts aside. “When I’m eating out, I always pray like the Amish do—silently,” she said, smiling at Todd.

  His brows lowered a bit, but then he nodded. “Fine by me.”

  Lisa bowed her head and thanked the Lord for the food set before her. She also offered thanks for this opportunity to get to know Todd better.

  As they ate their meal, she noticed how Todd seemed to critique everything he ate, and even made a few comments about their young waitress. Here they were on a date, yet he was suddenly paying more attention to the food than her. Todd had been quite talkative on the drive here, but now his only comments were about the items on his plate or how attentive the waitress was or wasn’t. She thought it was odd. But then, many things about Todd seemed a bit strange. One minute he was the perfect gentleman, saying kind and courteous things, and the next minute, Todd made off-handed remarks. He was a complicated man.

  Lisa took a sip of her hot tea. Maybe I should invite him over to my place sometime and cook a nice meal. Perhaps then he’d be more attentive. Or would he end up critiquing my dinner, and
maybe even me?

  Chapter 26

  Walnut Creek

  By Monday, Lance still had not heard from Heidi about getting Lisa’s phone number, so he decided to stop by her house. If she was there, he would speak to her during his mail delivery, rather than putting the Troyers’ mail in their box near the road.

  As he neared the house, he spotted Lyle standing near the buggy shed, hitching his horse. “Morning, Mr. Troyer. Is your wife at home?”

  “Yes, she’s getting ready to go into Berlin with me. We both have dental appointments this morning.”

  “Oh, well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to ask Heidi a quick question.”

  “You can either knock on the door or wait here. I’m sure she’ll be out soon.”

  “Think I’d better knock.” Lance headed to the house and had barely stepped onto the porch when Heidi came out the door.

  “Good morning, Lance. Do you have a package for me?”

  He shook his head. “Not today, but I was wondering if you have Lisa’s phone number. I need to talk to her about the duplex she has for rent, and it can’t wait till our next cooking class.”

  “Of course. I’ll see if I can find it.” She turned and went back inside.

  Lance leaned on the porch railing, waiting for Heidi’s return. Several minutes went by, and he began to pace. Sure hope I don’t cause her to be late for the dental appointment. Guess I should have said I could stop by later for Lisa’s number.

  Lance reflected on yesterday’s happenings. He’d gone to church by himself, of course, and when he got home Dan had half the kitchen painted yellow. It wasn’t the exact color as before, but at least it wasn’t beige anymore. He’d changed his clothes and helped his brother finish the job. Afterward, due to the paint odor, they’d gone out for lunch, leaving a few windows open to air the place out and help the paint dry. When they returned home, Dan watched TV while Lance worked on his daughters’ photo albums in the dining room. He’d managed to get all the pictures back in date order and had enjoyed reminiscing as he looked at each one.