Sweet as Honey

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  Luke smirked and walked away without responding.

  “That boy needs to learn some manners,” Poppy said.

  “Why is Dan so upset?” Rose asked.

  Lily would have rather talked about anything else, but her sisters were looking at her as if she knew all the answers. She probably did. “He’s mad at me. Or maybe I’m mad at him.” She pressed her fingers into her forehead above her eyebrow. “Ach, I don’t know.”

  Aunt B joined them under the tree with a plate of cookies in her hand. “I spied Luke Bontrager harassing you and thought I’d better come and chase him off. But he left before I had a chance to be rude.” She plopped down on the ground like one of the die youngie and offered cookies to her nieces. Then she set the plate in the grass and leaned back on one hand. “What did he want?”

  “He played a mean trick on Paul Glick,” Rose said, squeezing Lily’s hand as if trying to comfort her. Lily immediately felt guilty for not needing as much comfort as Rose wanted to give her.

  “Paul is too big for his britches,” Aunt B said. “And so is Luke Bontrager. That boy thinks the sun rises and sets with his permission.”

  “He told us that Dan is upset,” Poppy said, looking pointedly at Lily. “Lily’s mad at him.”

  Aunt B fingered the hole where one of her earrings usually went. “Because he invited that lady to our house?”

  Lily nodded. There was much more to it than that, but Carole Parker seemed like a good starting point.

  Bitsy looked into the sky. “Lord, are there no smart boys You can spare for my girls?”

  Lily’s heart must have weighed a thousand pounds. “Maybe he’s right, Aunt B. Maybe I’m ruining everything and our family will have to move in with Mammi and Dawdi because I am too weak to ask Paul for more money.”

  “You’re not weak. Dan doesn’t know how hard you’ve thought this through.” Aunt B reached out and patted Lily’s knee. “You have to be comfortable with the price and in your relationship with Paul. You’re doing fine.”

  “Jah,” Rose said. “We are all so proud of how smart you are. I would die of embarrassment if I had to talk about money with a man.”

  “We trust you to do what’s best for the family,” Poppy agreed, looking less convinced than either Rose or Aunt B. Or maybe Lily was imagining things. Poppy was probably still mulling over her encounter with Luke Bontrager.

  Lily glanced around the yard, making sure no one with big ears lingered close. “He kissed me, you know.”

  Poppy pursed her lips. “Paul?”

  “Dan.”

  Rose bloomed into a smile. “Really?”

  “Oh, Lily!” Poppy said. “That’s wunderbarr. He’s very handsome.” She immediately lowered her eyes and her voice. “Unless, of course, you didn’t think it was wunderbarr. Then I don’t think it’s wunderbarr either.”

  It had been more than wunderbarr. It had been better than summer picnics and Christmas morning and honey cake put together.

  She felt her face get warm and turned to Aunt B. “Are you mad?”

  Aunt B frowned. “Dan already told me, and I’m mad at him. Not you.”

  Lily’s eyebrows nearly flew off her face. “He told you?”

  “I tricked him into it, but that doesn’t make it any better. You know I don’t allow kissing.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  Aunt B had that stern twinkle in her eye, as if she were keeping up appearances for the sake of her nieces. “I have my suspicions that you’re not sorry at all.”

  Lily’s blush got hotter. How did Aunt B know such things?

  “Was it scary?” Rose asked.

  “Did he ask if he could kiss you? I hate it when they ask,” Poppy said.

  Aunt Bitsy gave Poppy the evil eye. “What do you mean you hate it when they ask? How would you know?”

  Poppy didn’t look at all contrite for whatever knowledge she’d gained. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, B.”

  Aunt B looked heavenward again. “Deliver us from evil, Lord.”

  Sometimes the boldest things came from Rose’s mouth. “Are you in love with Dan or Paul?”

  Her family stared at her and seemed to hold their collective breath.

  Lily deflated like a balloon. How could she explain herself? “Paul and I have been close for so long. We are tied together by friendship and gratitude.”

  “What about Dan?” Poppy said.

  Lily deflated even more. “Paul and I have been practically inseparable since eighth grade. It seems unavoidable that we should marry.”

  “Unavoidable,” Poppy murmured. “That sounds so romantic.”

  “Do I cast aside Paul and everything we’ve shared just because someone better-looking and more likable comes along? It seems so unfaithful.”

  Poppy opened her mouth to say something, glanced at Aunt B, and promptly closed it again.

  “Paul says Gotte brought us together.”

  “Ach, Lily,” Aunt B scolded. “You will never find out what Gotte wants for your life by asking another person.” She reached out and took Rose’s hand to her left and Poppy’s hand to her right. Rose and Poppy in turn grabbed Lily’s hands. “My girls,” Aunt B said, “you know I never take sides with boys, for any of you. Dan tramples dandelions and laughs about it, and he’s a complete failure at mousetraps. Paul hates bees and makes you pay for your own meals at the restaurant.”

  “Nobody is perfect, I guess,” Lily said.

  Rose’s lips curled encouragingly. “You just have to choose the one who’s perfect for you.”

  “But you should never marry out of guilt or obligation,” Poppy said.

  Aunt B motioned for them to scoot closer into their circle. She reached out and pinched Lily’s earlobes between her thumbs and index fingers. “Little sister, you don’t owe Paul anything. You certainly don’t owe him the rest of your life.”

  “But, Aunt B, you gave up your whole life out of gratitude to our mamm,” Lily said. “You felt like you owed her something for how she took care of you when you were children. Now you’re stuck raising us when you’d rather be going to rock concerts and wearing high heels and dancing.”

  Aunt B scooted close enough to cup Lily’s face in her hand. “I agreed to raise you girls because I fell in love the moment I laid eyes on you. I would have given up a lot more than Van Halen and Baywatch. You girls are my life, and don’t you forget it.”

  Lily blinked back tears. Poppy and Rose did the same.

  “Besides,” Aunt B said, “if it weren’t for you girls, I’d still be looking at people’s tongues every day, and that’s no way to spend your golden years.”

  A giggle tripped from Poppy’s lips. “I’m glad we could help.”

  “Maybe I don’t deserve better than Paul.”

  Aunt B frowned until her lips drooped below her chin. “You deserve the sun, the moon, and the stars, little sister, just like all of Gotte’s children do. He made us in His own image yet.”

  “What about Paul?”

  “Paul deserves to reap what he sows.” Aunt B cleared her throat. “Paul deserves happiness too, but not at the expense of your own.”

  Paul came charging at them with all the grace of a bull with a rump full of cockleburs. A smear of dirt ran down the side of his face, but other than that he seemed no worse for the wear. “Where is Luke Bontrager?” he demanded. “I had to ford a stream and chase my horse through two pastures.”

  Lily stood and handed Paul a cookie. “At least you found your horse.”

  Paul took a big bite. “I think he did that on purpose.”

  One corner of Poppy’s mouth curled playfully, and she pointed toward the front of the house. “He’s going to drive Dinah Eicher home. You can probably still catch him.”

  Paul glanced in the direction of the buggies lined along the roadway. “Denki. I will.”

  He tromped across the lawn. Lily had never seen him move so fast.

  “I saw Luke drive away two minutes ago,” Rose sai
d.

  Poppy looked genuinely disappointed. “Too bad. I would have liked to see Luke and Paul get into a shouting match.”

  It was hard to tell whom Poppy disliked more.

  “Me too,” said Aunt B.

  It was hard to tell if Aunt B liked anybody.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  As Lily had expected, Hannah and Mary Yutzy had a lot of friends. The lane in front of their house was lined with buggies and bicycles, and it seemed the sisters had invited the whole town to the quilting frolic. Lily, her sisters, and Aunt B walked around to the backyard where the Yutzys had set up five quilts under the trees, ready to quilt for the Labor Day auction. Everyone in Lily’s family but Poppy loved to quilt. Poppy tolerated it. Aunt B had taught them how to sew and quilt when they were younger, but Poppy didn’t enjoy it like the rest of them. She’d much rather be getting her hands dirty in the garden.

  Treva Yutzy had four sisters and six daughters. They spent all winter piecing quilt tops together so they’d have several to sell at auction. The doughnut and produce stand provided a gute income. The quilts were to help the district pay medical expenses of their members.

  Lily gazed at the sea of patchwork quilts set up in the yard. A magnificent blue-and-white Lone Star quilt sat in the center of the quilts. It had to be a king size. The other four quilts looked to be queen and smaller. Lily never tired of the way several different fabrics could be sewn together to create something so beautiful.

  Hannah Yutzy ran toward them, enthusiastically waving her arm and smiling as wide as the river. “Lily! I’m so glad to see you.” She pulled Lily, then Poppy, then Rose in for lung-crushing hugs. “The Honeybee Schwesters are the best quilters in Wisconsin,” she said, giggling with sincere delight. She glanced behind her and lowered her voice. “I told the Miller sisters, Ruth Shetler, and my aendi Fern that they were the best quilters in Wisconsin too. I hope you don’t mind that I gave you all first place.”

  “We are honored to share the award,” Aunt B said.

  Lily nodded with more enthusiasm than she felt. “We’re happy to be able to help.”

  “Did you bring thimbles?” Hannah asked.

  “Jah. And needles.”

  Hannah beamed as if they’d brought extra fingers. “Gute. Mamm is afraid we’re going to run out.” She made a sweeping motion toward the five quilts. “Sit wherever you want. If you get bored with one, you can move to another. Like as not, we’re going to be here all day.”

  Lily pretended to be excited, even though she had found it difficult mustering enthusiasm for much of anything for the last couple of days. It felt as if a black rain cloud hovered over her head and no matter how fast she moved, she couldn’t get out from underneath it.

  “Cum, Lily,” Rose said, taking her hand and pulling her forward. “Let’s go quilt the yellow one. It’s bound to make us feel cheery.”

  Lily had always taken it upon herself to watch out for Rose, to be Rose’s support when she needed a little extra courage. Today, Rose seemed to be watching out for Lily, trying to cheer her up even if there was no way to do it. Rose had a gute heart. It was nice of her to try to be the mother hen.

  They strolled to the yellow-and-blue Log Cabin quilt and sat in a row of four on one side. Treva Yutzy glanced up from the needle she was threading. “It’s the Honeybees,” she said, laughing for the pure joy of it. She had the same sunny disposition as her giggly daughters, tempered with a dose of maturity. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen any of you. Ages. I’m glad you could come. Any quilt that Bitsy Kiem works on will sell for double. You take the smallest stitches.”

  Aunt B brushed off Treva’s praise. “Years of cleaning teeth. I work well in small spaces.”

  Treva laughed an infectious, throaty laugh that Lily found delightful. The Yutzys never held back their joy. “Well, then, thank the Lord for teeth cleaners.”

  “You look no worse the wear from your surgery,” Aunt Bitsy said.

  Treva squinted into the eye of the needle. “Only took me a day to feel better. But I let my girls wait on me for two weeks. It was good for them.”

  Aunt Bitsy pulled four needles and a pair of small scissors from her bag. “Hard work never killed nobody yet.”

  Treva finally managed to thread her needle. “We’re doing a stitch in the ditch on this one.”

  Aunt B nodded. Experienced quilters didn’t need any more instruction than that. Lily and her sisters each took a length of thread, threaded their needles, and started on their own squares.

  Lily had always loved quilting because the steady, rhythmic motion of the needle through the fabric left her mind free to think about books and beehives. Today, she hated quilting because it left her mind free to think on things she’d rather not, like how long she could keep Paul dangling and how lonely she felt knowing that Dan loved her but had given her up because of Paul. Was Dan’s absence just another message from Gotte that she should accept Paul’s hand?

  Paul said he didn’t care that she wasn’t smart, so how could she be expected to make heads or tails of anything?

  Oh sis yuscht. Why hadn’t she sat in between her sisters? Dan’s mamm, Esther Kanagy, pulled a folding chair up to the quilt and sat down next to Lily. She had the same good-natured warmth in her expression that Dan always did, and Lily nearly choked on the emotion of seeing Dan in his mamm’s smile.

  Esther acted as if nothing were amiss, although Lily sensed something deep and troubled behind her eyes. She smiled at Lily like they were best friends, as if her son hadn’t wasted the better part of a month on the Honeybee Farm. “Lily, I haven’t seen you since Mammi Erda’s funeral. Dan says you pulled a wonderful-gute amount of honey in the last two weeks.”

  Lily thought her face might burst into flames. “We . . . couldn’t have done it without Dan,” she stuttered.

  “He worked as hard as we did,” Poppy said, frowning at the knot she’d already created in her thread before even taking a stitch.

  “And he made an extra extractor,” Rose said, pushing her needle through the fabric with her thimble. “It saved us many hours.”

  A look of disquiet traveled across Esther’s features. “He’s clever like that, and so helpful. He woke up at three this morning and weeded my entire garden in the dark.”

  Lily tried to breathe normally as guilt and confusion pressed on her. Dan was doing yard work in the middle of the night, trying to work himself to death, according to Luke. She thought she might be sick.

  Esther threaded a needle and started on the square next to Lily’s. “On Saturday night after milking, he wiped out all my kitchen cupboards. He found my springform pan that had been missing for months. It inspired me to try making a cheesecake. Bitsy, have you got a gute recipe?”

  Aunt B nodded. “Guaranteed to make you gain five pounds.”

  “Can I come over and get it from you?”

  “I’ll write it down for you today,” Aunt B said. “I’ve got most of my favorite recipes memorized.”

  Aunt B was clever like that. Lily read books. Aunt B could memorize them. She raised her eyebrows. “Better yet, bring that springform pan to my house, and we’ll make cheesecake together. That is, if you’re not afraid of mice. Or bees. We have an abundance of both.”

  Esther laughed. “I’d love to come. Everything tastes better when Bitsy Kiem makes it. Just ask my Daniel. He never missed an opportunity to eat at your house.” She glanced at Lily, and the laughter and happiness seemed to retreat from her face.

  They stitched in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes—well, uncomfortable for Lily. She couldn’t begin to guess how Esther felt. What had Dan told his mamm about them? About her? Was she resentful, indifferent, or relieved?

  Lily watched Dan’s mamm out of the corner of her eye. Esther’s nimble fingers seemed to attack the quilt fabric. She worked just like Dan did, with intensity and single-minded purpose. Dan didn’t have a lazy bone in his body. When he started a job, he finished it and didn’t drag his feet no matter ho
w tired he felt.

  Lily adored that about him.

  Her heart felt like a blacksmith’s anvil. Might as well admit it. She adored everything about him.

  What would Paul say?

  Esther leaned in and lowered her voice so that only Lily and Rose could hear. “I know it’s a secret, but Dan says you and Paul are going to be married.”

  Lily pursed her lips together and shook her head. Why did that question make her stomach tilt and roll like a canoe in a windstorm?

  Esther frowned, sat back, and became very interested in her thimble. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I’m always telling Dan it’s none of his business, and now here I am, trying to make it my business.”

  Lily’s voice came out barely above a whisper. “I’m not engaged to anybody. Paul and I are just friends.”

  What would Paul say if he’d heard her describe him that way?

  Esther’s lips twitched doubtfully. “I’ll tell Dan. Maybe he’ll stop with the window washing in the middle of the night.”

  Ach. Lily wished she were anywhere but here. Esther’s presence was a painful reminder that she’d made a complete mess of things.

  Mary Yutzy came out onto her back porch and waved in Lily’s direction. “Lily!” she called, loudly enough that everybody glanced up from their work to see what all the fuss was about. Mary had never been reserved.

  When Lily smiled at her, Mary practically ran across the lawn to the Log Cabin quilt. Lily, along with her sisters, stood and sort of caught Mary in a hug so she wouldn’t crash into the quilting frames. Mary embraced Lily then Rose and Poppy like long-lost relatives. “It’s been ages, Poppy, just ages since I’ve seen you, but Lily comes by for doughnuts often. First she was with Paul Glick and then Dan Kanagy.” She giggled. “It wonders me what boy she’ll bring next.”

  Lily did her best to guide her sisters and Mary away from the quilts. Mary meant well, but no one needed to hear what she had to say about Lily’s doughnut preferences.

  “What about you, Mary?” Rose said, still in protect-Lily mode. “I hear tell you’ve been seen around town with Vernon Beiler.”