by Jan Drexler
“You got it out already?” she asked, looking at her finger.
“It isn’t difficult if you get to the splinter right away. But if you let it sit in there for a day, or even a few hours, then it’s painful to get out.”
“Jah, for sure. I’ve had my share of splinters.”
Matthias took a small tool and eased the inlay out of the groove.
“Why are you taking it out? It was perfect.”
“Now that I know it fits, I need to glue it in.”
He picked up a bottle of wood glue and started dropping beads of the white liquid in the narrow groove with a steady hand. Ada leaned her elbow on the workbench, watching until he reached the end of the groove. Then he picked up the inlay again and set it in place. Once he pressed it into its spot, he wiped away the excess glue with a cloth.
“I don’t know how you do it,” Ada said. “My hands would have been shaking so much that I’d never get that in there on the first try.”
He grinned at her. “And I don’t know how you bake such delicious things. If I tried baking, it would come out burned or lopsided.”
She shrugged, feeling her cheeks warm. “I just pay attention to the details.”
“That’s the same thing I do.”
The clock by the lunch table struck one.
Ada glanced at Matthias’s project one more time and sighed. “I had better get back to the store. It’s Rose’s turn to take her lunch break.”
“Be sure to wash your finger and put a bandage on it. You don’t want it to get infected.”
He turned back to his work, rubbing away another bead of glue as Ada walked to the door that separated the workshop from the store. She sent Rose to lunch and was taking her place behind the counter before she remembered that today’s Great Cookie Campaign had been a failure. Amos wasn’t at work. How could she have forgotten about that?
After Ada left, Matthias gave his project one last wipe with a damp cloth, then picked up the small scraping plane. He had sharpened the blade and cleaned the tool, and now applied it to the wood using short, light strokes. He worked quickly, only smoothing the seam between the inlay and the wood, not shaping the leg. As the curls of wood fell from the plane in fine lacy spirals, his mind wandered to Ada.
He liked her. He had liked her when they had been in school together, even though she had ignored him. But that had been all right. He had never been one of those boys who did crazy stunts during recess to get the girls’ attention. That kind of fooling around was more for guys like Amos. Matthias had never been that bold.
Blowing the wood spirals away, Matthias stooped to look across the inlay, then applied the scraper to a section that still looked uneven.
The workshop was quieter today with Amos gone. Vernon was using the band saw on the other side of the big room, but without the shouting banter he and Amos usually exchanged during the day. The frown on Leroy’s face earlier made it clear that the boss wasn’t happy that Amos had called in. Matthias had heard of workers who would call in sick on Friday so they could have a long weekend, but only the Englisch would resort to lying to their bosses that way, wouldn’t they?
Matthias moved the plane to another rough place and continued the short strokes.
Amos was a puzzle. He looked Amish in his dress and the way he lived, but he acted like an unbroken colt fighting the harness. Matthias’s mind went back to the hurtful comments he had heard Amos and Vernon make about Ada last week. Leroy would never allow talk like that in the workshop when he was around, and Matthias didn’t like it, either. Talking about someone like that was uncalled for. He just hoped Ada never heard comments like those.
He ran his finger along the inlaid wood. No splinters remained.
“How is it coming?”
Leroy had walked up to the workbench while Matthias had been engrossed in his work.
“I think this one is working out so far.” Matthias stepped back so Leroy could examine his progress.
“Beautiful,” Leroy said. “Your Dat couldn’t have done a better job on the inlay. But it isn’t a table leg yet.”
“I thought I’d try doing the inlay first, and then shape the table leg. I tried shaping the leg before doing the inlay and just couldn’t get it to work. The curve in the leg’s shape made it too difficult to get it to look right.”
Matthias took the piece of wood out of its clamps and handed it to Leroy. His boss looked at it from all angles.
“The inlay is nice and deep. It looks like your method might work.”
“I’ll let the glue dry over the weekend and work on the shaping on Monday.”
Leroy passed his thumb across the grain with a smile of satisfaction that eased Matthias’s worries. If Leroy was pleased with his work, then he knew he had done the inlay correctly.
“How is your mother doing?” Leroy said, leaning back against the workbench. “She has gone through quite a bit, with the move back to Shipshewana and all.”
Matthias shrugged. “I think she’s getting along fine. She likes being back here where we’re close to the girls.”
“But?” Leroy’s gaze didn’t waver.
“She regrets moving to Wisconsin. I think she believes things would have turned out differently if we had stayed here.”
“Jah.” Leroy crossed his arms. “I have gotten that feeling from what my wife has told me. Franny thinks that Essie is holding on too dearly to the past.”
Matthias took a rag and started wiping his tools and putting them away. “Are you asking as a friend or as a deacon?”
Leroy chuckled. “I guess a little of both. As a deacon, I’m concerned about all the members of the G’may. We’re a family, and if one is suffering, we’re all suffering.”
“I think Mamm is beginning to adjust. Dat’s passing was sudden.” Matthias swallowed. He didn’t trust his voice to speak normally.
“Did you get Ervin’s investment back when you sold the farm in Wisconsin?”
Matthias shook his head. “Dat had taken out a mortgage to buy it. After the funeral, Simon took the first offer that came along, but it was only enough to pay off the loan. He sold the livestock to buy our place here and to pay for the expenses of moving back to Indiana.”
“Your horse and buggy?”
Matthias’s throat closed. “We lost them in the accident.”
Leroy stroked his beard while Matthias put the chisels back into their case.
“If you were in need, you would tell me, wouldn’t you?”
Matthias hesitated. “Dat wasn’t one to ask for help. I don’t know how Mamm feels about it.”
“It’s a prideful man who considers himself above the rest of the community. The church supports all its members.”
“Simon gave us a cow to use, and the girls all made sure the cellar is full. We have plenty to eat.”
“But you ride your bicycle to work, even when it’s snowy and the days are short. You’re riding to and from work in the dark.”
Matthias closed the chisel case and put it in the drawer. He didn’t have an answer for Leroy. The old house on the other side of town was small and crowded. Mamm spent money to hire a driver rather than buy a new buggy and horse. And at night . . . Mamm sat in her chair through the long evenings, staring out the dark window.
Leroy leaned closer. “We’re here to help, Matthias. There is money in the deacon fund to provide your family with a driving horse and a buggy. We will make sure you have enough propane to last the winter. I also know that the Fishers butchered an extra steer this week. They’ll send some of the meat to your house.”
With a sigh, Matthias turned to Leroy. “I don’t know what Mamm will say about it, but I can only give you my thanks.”
Leroy put a hand on Matthias’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about Essie. I’ll see if Franny can go over this afternoon and talk to her about it.” He grinned. “And now, speaking as a friend and your boss, I want to make sure you know you have a job here as long as you want it. Consider yourself one of the family.
”
“I want to earn my job. Don’t keep me on if I don’t fit here.”
The older man chuckled. “Never worry about that, son. Your work speaks for itself. You have a knack for working with wood, and your skills are valuable to us.”
Matthias took a rag and wiped the newly inlaid wood one last time. “I wish today wasn’t Friday. By tomorrow, the glue will be dry, and I could start working on shaping the table leg.”
“You could come in, if you’d like. Franny and I will be in Middlebury, visiting her sister for the day, but Ada and Rose will be working in the store. Just let yourself in and work as long as you want to.”
“I would like that, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Folks have been asking for fine woodworking in the store, but there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to work on both furniture and the clocks. The sooner we can put one of your pieces in the showroom, the sooner we’ll be able to start selling them.”
“You’re that certain? I’ve only done one inlay. This is a long way from being a piece of furniture.”
“I’ve watched you work. You have your father’s skill and attention to detail. I’m sure your pieces will sell just as well as his did.”
Matthias smiled as he took a deep breath of the comfortable scent of wood and sawdust, feeling more at home than he had for years.
By the time Rose returned from her dinner break, Ada was ready for her help. The sun had emerged from the gray clouds and turned the afternoon into a sparkling wonderland of snow. Shoppers, eager to find something special for Christmas, filled the little shop. Ada kept busy ringing up purchases on the cash register and serving cups of hot cider, while Rose took orders for furniture.
One couple, their last customers of the afternoon, purchased Ada’s favorite clock. She loved the stained-glass panels Dat had inserted into the tall case, depicting a pair of red cardinals.
“Cardinals mate for life,” said the Englisch woman, Mrs. Wilson. “I’ve always thought of them as a symbol of a long and happy marriage.”
Mr. Wilson winked at Ada as he handed Rose a card with their address on it. “Until I met Mary, I thought a marriage could either be long or happy, but not both. She proved me wrong.” He put an arm around his wife’s shoulders and gave her a gentle hug. “Guess how long we’ve been married.”
“Oh, Bert. It isn’t fair to put these girls on the spot like that.” Mrs. Wilson laughed as she gave her husband a loving look.
“I’ll guess,” said Rose. She grinned at the couple as she handed the receipt to Mr. Wilson. “I think you’ve been married for forty-five years.”
Mr. Wilson turned to Ada. “Now it’s your turn. What do you think?”
Ada concentrated, noting the comfortable way Mrs. Wilson laid her hand on her husband’s shoulder and the soft look in Mr. Wilson’s eyes.
“I think you’ve been married longer. Maybe fifty years?”
The couple looked at each other. “You’re both wrong,” said Mr. Wilson. “Our wedding was fifty-five years ago today.”
“You must have been very young,” Rose said.
Mrs. Wilson giggled. “We were. Bert joined the army before he graduated from high school, and we wanted to get married so I could go with him when he finished boot camp. He was eighteen and I was sixteen.”
“I was stationed all around the world. Germany, Iceland, Korea—”
“And I followed him all the way.” Mrs. Wilson’s eyes grew misty. “Until he was sent to Vietnam. Then I stayed behind, worrying and praying for two years before he came home.”
Ada couldn’t imagine living in a different country or having a husband who was fighting in a war. “Do you have children?” she asked.
Mrs. Wilson shook her head. “The Lord never blessed us with little ones, but he gave us each other.” She gave her husband another loving look. “This clock is very special. We first saw it in your shop here last summer and decided to save our money until we could buy it.”
“I hope you enjoy it for a long time,” Rose said as Mrs. Wilson buttoned her coat in preparation to leave.
The older woman didn’t answer, but a tear trickled down her cheek.
“Now, none of that,” Mr. Wilson scolded as he took her hand. “We promised each other there would be no tears today.” He looked at Rose and Ada, his own eyes glistening. “This is our last anniversary together, and our last Christmas until we meet in heaven. I won’t be here next year, according to the doctors, so this clock will have to keep Mary company until she joins me.”
Ada’s own eyes grew damp. “Keep in touch, won’t you? Stop by the store whenever you want to and let us know how you’re doing.”
“Do you hear that, Mary?” Bert kissed her cheek. “I’m not leaving you alone. You have friends wherever you go.”
The couple waved their farewells and Rose locked the door after them, turning the Closed sign to face out the window.
“They were nice people, weren’t they?”
Ada wiped her eyes, then started boxing up the few remaining cookies from the bakery case. “Such a sad story, though. She will miss him so much when he passes on.”
“But she has a lot to be thankful for,” Rose said as she took money and papers out of the cash drawer and put them in the deposit bag to carry to the house. “They’ve had a long life together and have many memories to look back on.”
Ada finished with the cookies and started walking through the store, straightening merchandise as she went. When she passed the cardinal clock, she stopped and ran her finger over the red bird on the front. The bandage on her finger made her think of Matthias and her cookie delivery that day.
“I forgot to tell you,” she said, giving the beautiful clock one last look before moving on to the next display. “Amos didn’t come to work today, so he wasn’t there for his cookies.”
“What did you do with them?”
“I gave them to Vernon and Matthias. Even if Amos wasn’t there, at least someone could enjoy them.”
“Did Dat say where Amos was?”
“He called in sick, but Dat said it in a funny way, like he didn’t believe that Amos had told him the truth.” Ada turned an ornament on the little display tree so that it faced the front. “Amos wouldn’t lie, though. Would he?”
Rose closed the cash drawer with a thump. “I don’t know him that well. He’s your beau.”
“He isn’t my beau.” Ada took her shawl from the hook. “I just want him to be.”
“You don’t if he is untruthful. If he lies to his boss, he’ll lie to his wife, too.” Rose tossed her shawl around her shoulders and flipped off the light switch. “I already locked the door. We’ll go out through the workshop.”
Ada started down the dark hall. “But I don’t know if Amos lied. What if he’s really sick?”
“You’ll have to wait until Monday and ask him.”
Rose pulled the workshop door open. The big room was dark except for a light over Matthias’s workbench and a lantern shining from Dat’s office in the far corner.
As Rose crossed the open area to Dat’s office, Ada walked over to Matthias’s workbench. He was bent over another piece of oak, inserting another inlay. Three finished blocks were on the bench next to his work area.
“You’ve gotten a lot done this afternoon.”
Matthias grinned at her but didn’t stop his careful, methodical work. “I wanted to get all four legs this far along, so the glue can dry overnight. Leroy said I can come in and work on them tomorrow.”
“Did you know it’s after six o’clock?”
A line appearing between his eyebrows was the only sign that he had heard her.
“Vernon must have gone home an hour ago.”
Matthias straightened, wiping the new inlay with a rag, then he stared at her. “It isn’t really six o’clock already, is it?”
When she nodded, he glanced out the dark window, then at the work on his bench.
“I was supposed to milk the cow at five.” He
rubbed the back of his neck. “But at least all four legs are inlaid.”
While Matthias switched off his work light and took his coat from the hook next to the workshop door, Ada got her plate from the lunch table. She wrapped the three remaining cookies in a napkin and handed them to Matthias.
“You should take these with you.”
He grinned as he put the cookies in his coat pocket. “Denki. I might even eat them on the way home.”
“Did you ride your bicycle again today?”
Matthias nodded as he fastened his coat.
Ada glanced at the window. The sun had already set. “It’s dark outside, and cold. Why didn’t you drive to work this morning?”
He pulled his knit cap over his ears. “We don’t have a buggy yet.” He grinned at her. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be careful riding home.”
Wintry air swept into the workshop as Matthias left, making Ada shiver. She hoped he didn’t live too far away.
CHAPTER FOUR
Matthias wished he could start work earlier on Saturday morning, but with Leroy and his wife gone for the day, he would have to wait until Ada and Rose arrived at the store at eight o’clock before he could go to the workshop. So, he spent extra time cleaning the cow’s stall and putting down fresh bedding.
He was eating breakfast when he heard a buggy in the driveway.
“Who could that be?” Mamm asked, peering out the window. “It looks like Deacon Weaver.”
Matthias joined Mamm at the window. She was right. Leroy stopped a strange horse at the rail at the end of the sidewalk. The Weavers’ buggy, driven by Franny Weaver, stopped beside him.
“I told Franny not to bother with a horse and buggy for us.” Mamm turned away from the window and stomped back to the sink. “She said we needed one, but I told her I didn’t want one. We’re getting along fine without it.”
“And I told Leroy we would be happy to have it.” Matthias cleared the table before Leroy and Franny came to the door. “We need better transportation for the winter. My bicycle won’t go on the roads when the snow gets deep.”
