by Ruth Reid
He hadn’t taken more than a few sips before the conversation outside ended and Henry walked away. Joy half-turned, glanced teary-eyed in the direction Henry had gone, then lifted her gaze to the sky.
Noah pushed his chair back and grabbed the box of cookies. At the register, he strained his neck to look into the kitchen. Not seeing Sarah, he called out, “I’m leaving the money by the register.” He rushed out the door.
Joy stood in the same spot, face tilted toward the sky, eyes closed.
“Is everything all right?” Noah stepped closer.
She wiped her hands over her face and smiled, but her lips trembled. “Mei parents opened this place.” Her gaze lifted above him. “I remember watching mei daed paint that sign . . . Nau the paint’s fading.”
He peered at the Stolzfus Bakery sign attached to the building. “It wouldn’t take much to touch it up.”
She tightened her lips into another strained smile. “I should get back inside.”
Noah motioned to the box of cookies. “I’ll take two dozen tomorrow. Nay, make it three.”
His mother had asked more than once that he stop by his great-aunt’s house. He would honor his mamm’s wishes and keep some of the calories off his waist. Although it would require he sit long enough to have a cup of her diluted tea and listen to her convoluted stories of the past. Or he could leave them at the motel. If his cabinets were going to be finished on time, he needed to concentrate on work.
CHAPTER NINE
Joy carried the can of white paint up the ladder. Today was the first day of favorable weather in the two weeks since she noticed the faded bakery sign. She dipped the brush into the gallon, then applied the paint with even strokes. It wasn’t long before her hands turned numb and her cheeks tingled from the cold wind. At least the sign would dry quickly. She worked her way from one side of the board to the other, painting each letter. Joy took a moment from her elevated position to scan the town. Thanksgiving wasn’t until next week and the town had already put up the Christmas decorations. The evergreen wreaths and garlands always looked nice on the lampposts. She spotted Henry outside the hardware store and lifted her hand holding the brush in a wave. He stared at her a moment, then shook his head and went back into the store.
Joy dipped her brush into the can and continued painting.
“Aren’t you afraid of falling?” Meredith’s voice startled her.
The ladder shook. Joy glanced down at her friend. “You almost got showered in paint.”
Meredith’s face cringed. “Sorry.”
“I’ll be down in a minute.” Joy finished the y in Bakery and then eased down the ladder. “What do you think?” She gazed up at her work.
“Looks brand new.”
“Nett from up there.” Joy shrugged. “The background is peeling in spots, but I didn’t have any red paint.”
“You should probably wait until spring. They’re forecasting snow.”
“I haven’t seen you in two weeks,” Joy said. “How is your little sister?”
“She’s finally over the contagious stage. I don’t remember having so many spots when I had chicken pox.”
“At least she won’t be quarantined at Thanksgiving.” Joy walked to the back of the building where she squatted at the water spigot with the paintbrush.
“Does your painting the sign mean the bakery isn’t closing?”
“It’s been mei prayer, but Matthew hasn’t changed his mind. I noticed the paint peeling a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t want it to look run-down when . . .” A puddle of white paint collected at Joy’s feet.
“I know this is hard for you.”
“Did I tell you Henry stopped by? He thought once the bakery closed there wouldn’t be anything standing in the way of us getting married.” Joy shook the brush. “He seemed pleased about the closing.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I could never marry someone who wouldn’t allow me to work outside the haus. I want to have some say over mei life.” Unlike Lois.
“Ach, I missed a lot taking care of mei sister.”
“I almost wrote you a letter to slip under your door, but I was afraid one of your bruders or sisters would find it and read it.”
“Jah, and they probably would’ve thought it was funny to read it out loud too. What about the cabinetmaker—have you heard from him?”
“I’ve gotten a letter every day.” Joy smiled. “Noah drops it off when he picks up his order.”
“Hmm . . . Maybe I should ask which one created that smile, the cabinetmaker or Noah?”
“I know what you’re thinking.” Joy headed to the front of the building.
“Well?” Meredith followed.
“Noah’s a nice guy.” She grasped the ladder leaning against the building and gently lowered it to the sidewalk. “He seems concerned about the bakery. I should clarify, I talk about the bakery and he listens.”
“Hmm . . .”
Joy said too much. She picked up one end of the ladder while Meredith grabbed the other.
“He sounds like a sweet man.”
“He certainly has a sweet tooth.” Joy chuckled. “I don’t know how he can eat so much.”
“I’d say he’s a perfect match for someone who loves to bake.”
Joy ignored her friend’s comment and continued toting the ladder to the storage area at the rear of the building. She wasn’t ready to admit how much she looked forward to seeing Noah each day.
“I made a variety pack of some of mei Christmas favorites,” Joy said to Noah as she brought the box out of the kitchen.
“That sounds interesting.” He opened the box at the counter and peeked inside. “Wow, these look really gut.”
“I figured if this was the bakery’s last Christmas to be open, I wanted to make all mei mamm’s recipes. The ones she taught me over the years.”
Noah motioned to an empty table. “Can you sit down and have a cup of kaffi with me?”
“Sure.” They sat together most mornings for a few minutes when no other customers were in the shop. The Englischer at the table reading a newspaper had only wanted coffee and a bagel, and no one else was waiting to be served. She filled two mugs with coffee and followed Noah to their usual table next to the window.
He opened the box and tipped it toward her.
“Nay, danki.” She smiled. “I sampled enough of them when they were hot out of the oven.”
He picked out a jelly-filled pastry ball coated with powdered sugar. “So these are all your favorites?”
She nodded. “I call that one a sweet snowball surprise.”
He took a bite and raspberry jam covered his lips. “I found the surprise,” he said, reaching for a napkin. He wiped his mouth. “Those could be addictive.”
“I hope everyone at the Christmas sleigh ride likes them.”
“You should probably worry more about having enough snow.”
“Ach, don’t say that. We must have snow.”
“The sleigh ride is really important to you, isn’t it?”
“Jah.” She looked out the window and watched a few passing cars. “Mei daed proposed to mei mamm on a sleigh ride. They were the ones who organized our bakery hosting cookies and cocoa every year on Second Christmas.”
“It sounds like a lot of fun.”
A man and woman entered the shop and Joy left the table long enough to wait on them. The woman’s indecisiveness kept Joy at the counter longer than she wished. By the time the people paid for their purchases and left, Noah’s coffee cup was empty.
“Can I refill your cup?”
“Nay.” He stood and picked up the box. “All this talk about Christmas reminded me of how much work I have to do yet.” He frowned. “I probably won’t be in to buy cookies for a couple of weeks.”
“I understand.” She smiled. “I was going to tell you that with Thanksgiving this week, the bakery will be closed on Thursday and Friday.” An odd sensation washed over her. She wasn’t sure if she would miss the daily le
tters he delivered from the cabinetmaker, or spending time with Noah. Over the past month and a half, she’d developed a fondness for his company, as well as for her new pen pal.
“I’ll see you . . . hopefully soon.” He headed to the door.
“Noah,” she called.
He spun to face her. “Jah?”
“Happy Thanksgiving.”
“You too.” Smiling, he touched the brim of his hat and proceeded outside.
Throughout the afternoon, Joy tried to push aside her feelings, but by closing time, she was more confused than ever. She jotted a note to the cabinetmaker.
. . . Have you ever been confused about your future? About life in general? I am. I’ve told you things that I haven’t shared with anyone else. You know about Henry, my parents dying in the fire, and my sister never showing up for work on time. What about you? Have you always known what you’ve wanted to do in a situation? Have you ever been confused about anything? I wish I understood why things happen. Like you receiving the box I mailed to my cousin and how we’ve become pen pals.
Noah scored the piece of rose-colored glass following the petal-traced markings, then rinsed, dried, and covered the glass edges with copper foil. The intricate process required a great deal of patience and most of the day just to complete one rose. This portion of the project couldn’t be completed soon enough for him.
He missed Joy and it had been only three days.
Noah finished the rose section and set his tools down. He needed a break. The shading on the leaf took more focus than he had at the moment. He strolled out to the mailbox.
Noah smiled and tore open the envelope on his way back to the shop. But he didn’t read past the opening greeting before a buggy entered the driveway.
Ruby stopped the horse at the hitching post next to the shop and climbed out. “I was hoping you would be home today. I kumm a few times last week and didn’t find you in the shop.”
“I had a job out of town.” He folded the letter and shoved it into the envelope.
“Jah, that’s what Stella told me.”
His younger sister hadn’t mentioned Ruby’s visit. Just as well. He didn’t wish to discuss Ruby with his sister.
“I hear your cabinet business is really growing.”
He nodded. “I need to get back to work nau.” He pushed open the door to the shop, but stopped in the threshold when she started to follow him.
“I’m sort of a little surprised you didn’t get married,” she said, batting her lashes.
Her syrupy voice, which he’d once found so attractive, now grated his nerves. It had taken him four years to get past his hurt. Marriage hadn’t entered his mind. “It took me longer to get over you running out on our relationship.”
“I’m sorry.” She lowered her gaze a moment, then looked up. “Maybe nau that I’m back we can try again.”
Noah shook his head. “I prayed for months asking God to mend mei broken heart. I’m thankful He did.” Her sudden tears had no effect on him now. “I wish you well, Ruby. But I’m no longer in love with you.”
She turned, took a few steps, and glanced over her shoulder. “I guess I deserve that. If you change your mind . . .”
“I won’t.” Noah praised God as he entered the shop. If God hadn’t healed his heart when He had, Noah wouldn’t have formed a friendship with Joy. He sat in the rocking chair and read Joy’s latest letter.
Have you ever been confused? Her words lingered until he left the shop and jogged over to the house. He rummaged through the drawer of his bedside table and found the long letter he had started a few days ago. The one where he’d poured out his heart about Ruby. As he added to his letter, he whispered a prayer that his heart would be safe.
Joy read the cabinetmaker’s eight-page letter twice, both times stopping at the same spot.
. . . I prayed that I could stop loving Ruby for months. Everyone told me she was wrong for me, but I didn’t want to believe she would choose pursuing her dreams over being with me. She didn’t share the same hopes of building a plain home and raising a family, and yet it still took me four years to let her go completely.
Pray about what God wants for you, J. Once you discover His plans, you won’t be confused.
Joy blotted a hankie over her eyes. She wasn’t even sure why his letter had such a strong effect on her, but it did. The cabinetmaker and Henry were alike. They both didn’t want to marry someone who had a job. Obviously, the cabinetmaker made the woman choose. Just like Henry had given her an ultimatum. How foolish she was to have talked so much about the bakery. In her last letter she’d even suggested he come to their district’s Second Christmas gathering so they could meet.
She tucked the letter with the others in her chest of drawers. She had to help her sisters prepare the Thanksgiving meal. She had no time to dwell on a man she could never be right for, who would never be right for her.
CHAPTER TEN
Noah paced the floor of his shop. How could he work on finishing the cabinets when all he could think about was Joy? He’d sent her four letters since Thanksgiving and hadn’t heard anything. Something was wrong. She had always been quick to respond.
He set the glass cutter on the table and went to the shelf where he kept her letters in a wooden box. He’d reread her letters a dozen times since she stopped writing. He must have missed something.
Noah scanned the page. Other than writing about being confused, she talked about new recipes . . . His eye traveled back up the page to the line about being confused. An image of Joy and Henry outside the bakery knotted his stomach. Henry had said after Christmas there wouldn’t be anything standing in their way. Christmas was only three weeks away. Noah paced the length of his shop. Why hadn’t it dawned on him before that she and Henry might have gotten back together? But in her last letter, she invited the cabinetmaker to the Christmas sleigh ride. Noah reread the invitation part of the letter again.
Our district’s annual sleigh ride is on Second Christmas. I’m sure I told you that was why I’ve been making Christmas cookies. Every year, we all get together at the bakery for cookies and hot cocoa. It’s a tradition my mother and father started after they bought the bakery. I would love it if you could attend. That is, if you are interested in meeting your pen pal in person.
Even though he immediately wrote her back to say yes, she never responded to his letter or any of the ones that followed. Had she changed her mind? Was that why she stopped writing?
All this second-guessing would drive him crazy if he didn’t talk with her soon. He had to see her. She needed to know he was her pen pal. He’d ignored his pricking conscience too long.
Joy refilled Mrs. Yoder’s coffee mug, then moved over to the table next to the window where Meredith was seated. “It’s starting to look like a blizzard,” Joy said, topping off her friend’s mug with more coffee.
“I think it’s already snowed a foot.”
“We need it to stick.”
“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of snow.” Meredith motioned to the chair opposite her. “Can you take a break?”
Joy glanced at Mrs. Yoder, the only other customer in the shop. A few tables over, the elderly woman nibbled on her pastry and stared out the window. Joy motioned to the pot. “Give me a minute to put this up and then we can chat.”
“Just think,” Meredith said after Joy sat down. “The sleigh ride is only three weeks away.”
Joy sighed. Only three weeks before the bakery closed too. She hated to think about turning the key for the last time. What would she do once it closed? And would she ever see Noah again?
Meredith elbowed Joy. “Have you heard from the cabinetmaker?”
Joy shook her head.
“You two were sending letters back and forth every day. What happened?”
Joy ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “I stopped writing him.”
“Why?”
Joy shrugged.
“I thought you were beginning to like him,” Meredith said. “I
mean really like him.”
“He told me about his old girlfriend. She wanted to be a seamstress and he made her choose between him and sewing. Henry made me choose between being a fraa and working too.”
“So you stopped writing to him?”
“I had to.” Joy leaned closer. “I was beginning to have feelings for a man I had never met—how narrisch is that?” She held up her hand. “Don’t answer that. I know it’s crazy.” She plopped her elbows on the table and buried her head in her hands. “I have feelings for two men.”
“Two? Please tell me one of them isn’t Henry. I saw him with Priscilla again.”
She drew a deep breath and looked up. “Noah.”
Meredith’s brows rose. “I figured something was up the other day when we were talking about his sweet tooth. Remember, I said he was a perfect match for someone who liked to bake?”
Joy bowed her head. “Jah, I remember.”
“Why are you so glum?”
“I’ve never been drawn to two men at the same time. Noah is kind and fun to be around. But I’m also drawn to the cabinetmaker. The letter about his old girlfriend was eight pages long. He really opened up to me. I got the impression he’d never shared those feelings with anyone.”
The doorbell dinged. Joy craned her head but didn’t see anyone. She looked around the room. Mrs. Yoder’s chair was empty. Joy glanced out the window. Mrs. Yoder was standing on the sidewalk, looking more confused than ever. “I’d better see if I can help her. She’s apt to wander into traffic.” Joy pushed her chair back and stood. “Sarah should be here any minute. Do you mind watching the bakery until she arrives?”
“Sure. I’d offer to walk Mrs. Yoder home, but she was upset with me the other day in the Quilter’s Corner and I’m nett sure she would take kindly to it. She didn’t even acknowledge me a few minutes ago when I came in. Poor woman. It must be hard when your mind is confused.”
