“That’s because you finally chose him.”
“Well, my situation was a lot more complicated than your situation is.”
“That’s true.” Breathing out heavily, Tulip felt the tension she’d been holding in her shoulders float away. Rose was right. Her situation had been dreadfully uncomfortable. “I’ve been so worried.”
“Is there something else you’re not telling me?” Rose peered into her face.
“Nee, not unless I’ve left something out that I don’t remember. The only thing is that Wilhem asked me if I was going to the softball game and I said I didn’t like softball. That was the game that Nathanial was supposed to be driving me home from. Do you see? Wilhem thought I wasn’t going to it. What if he finds out that I was there? He lives with Jonathon, and he was there. What if Jonathon said something to him? He probably will and then when Wilhem will think I’m a dreadful liar.” Her shoulders stooped. “Come to think of it, that’s probably what I am.”
Tulip nudged Rose when Wilhem walked into the house followed closely by Nathanial. “Look! There they are. Both of them.”
“Nathanial looks an awful lot like Jacob. Wilhem looks nice. If Wilhem asks why you were at the softball game, just say you had to drive the twins at the last minute.”
“That would be lying. It’s close to the truth, but not the truth.”
“You could always tell the truth, then.”
Tulip frowned. Lying wasn’t a good idea and neither was telling the truth. “Telling the truth would be better, but what would that sound like? Oh, Wilhem, before I knew you’d be back here, I accepted a buggy ride from another man I like, but since you’ve turned back up I got out of that and now I’m hoping he doesn’t ask again or tell anyone we went out on a date because now I like you better.”
“Jah, that does sound bad, and kind of wacky,” Rose agreed.
“I can’t even explain myself. You see? Now I don’t know what to do.”
Rose and Tulip stopped their whispering and turned their eyes to the front when their father stood to open the meeting in prayer.
Chapter 16
For the whole meeting, Tulip did her best to concentrate on what was being said. She didn’t succeed very well, though, because she was too worried about what would happen afterward. What if both men approached her at the same time? She glanced over at Wilhem and Nathanial. Wilhem was sitting in the second row and Nathanial was sitting in the row directly behind him. What if the two men got to talking and her name came up? Her stomach churned at the thought.
When the meeting was over, Rose and Tulip stayed back until they were the last ones out of the house. After the Sunday meeting there was always food served. The men moved most of the long benches out of the house and replaced them with tables. In the warmer weather, the meal tables were set up in the yard.
“I’m going to help Mamm in the kitchen and hopefully avoid everyone,” Tulip said.
“Nee, you shouldn’t do that; not if you like Wilhem. You should go out and speak with him.”
“I can speak to him later. Hopefully, when Nathanial’s gone home.”
“Don’t let what happened between Jacob and me stop you from getting closer to Nathanial. He is not to be held responsible for his brother’s shortcomings.”
“I don’t think I’m doing that. I’m not taking that into consideration at all.”
Tulip headed back into the house and into the kitchen to help her mother and the other ladies with the food. Unfortunately, her mother kept giving her things to be taken outside even when she insisted she was happy to stay in the kitchen. Tulip went so far as to offer to do all the washing up as the dishes came back to the kitchen. Her mother wouldn’t hear of it. It was as though her mother knew she wanted to hide away, and didn’t want to help her do so.
When her mother loaded her up with bread to place on the tables, she saw Wilhem and to her amazement he headed straight to her.
“There you are.”
She smiled at him, hoping he wasn’t going to mention the softball game. Since he was smiling, it seemed like she was in the clear.
“How’s everything going?” she asked as she placed one lot of bread on a table.
“I have some good news.”
“What is it?” she asked.
By the smile on his face she thought it was something important
“Jonathon and I have found a nice haus to live in.”
“That’s wunderbaar! Is it close by? Wait, don’t tell me yet. Stay here for a minute while I put this bread out.” She placed four lots of bread on four tables and headed back to Wilhem. “Tell me about it.”
“It’s the small place on the corner of this road just before the creek.”
“I know the one; it’s the white one with the red roof?”
“That’s it.”
“That’s quite exciting.”
“We’re moving in there on Wednesday.”
“That happened quickly.”
“I tend to move fast when I know something is right.”
He said it in a way that made her giggle.
“Could I drive you home after the singing tonight, Tulip?”
Tulip glanced around before she answered, hoping Nathanial was nowhere close. She saw Nathanial and her father talking. Both men were smiling and seemed to be getting along well.
“Tulip?”
She turned to face him. “I’m… I’m not staying for the singing tonight.”
“Can I drive you home before that, then? Or how about I pick you up from work one day next week?”
Tulip smiled. That would be a better plan and less likely for the two men to run into each other. “I’d like that.”
“Tuesday after you finish work?”
“Perfect.”
He gave her a beaming smile. “I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.”
Tulip turned around to head back into the kitchen. She had avoided a disaster, but now she wouldn’t be able to stay on for the singing like she’d planned. That was a disappointment, but it would be worth it to avoid a disaster.
* * *
When Tulip emerged from the kitchen after all the washing up had been done, she was relieved to see most of the people had gone home, leaving only the younger people who were staying for the singing. Thankfully, Nathanial was nowhere to be seen. She’d been successful at avoiding him—or so she had thought. As she was wiping the tables down before the men loaded them back onto the church wagon, he walked over to her.
“Have you been hiding from me?”
She smiled at him. “Of course not.”
“That’s what it seems like to me. Anyway, I spoke to your vadder, but I haven’t been able to find your mudder.”
“She spends most of her time on Sundays in the kitchen organizing the food.”
“I think your vadder likes me.”
“I saw the two of you talking together. What did you say to him?”
“I just talked about a little of this, a little of that. He knows I’m Jacob’s bruder and he didn’t mind at all.”
“I’m surprised you think that that would make a difference to anyone.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, you never know.”
Seeing the men were loading the tables she’d wiped down, she moved on to the other tables while Nathanial followed her.
“Can I drive you home soon, Tulip?”
“Nee, I’m not staying for the singing.”
“What about now?”
“I have to stay back and then go home with my mudder.”
He nodded. “Are you playing hard-to-get?”
She turned around and stared at him, wondering if he was joking or whether he was serious. “I’m not playing anything.”
He laughed and she laughed too. When she turned back to one of the tables, she felt someone was staring at her. She looked over her shoulder to see that it was Jonathon.
“I must help with the cleaning up of the kitchen,” she said.
“I’m
not giving up on you. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, Nathanial.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he said again.
She hurried into the kitchen, worried about the way Jonathon had been staring at her. He had to know that there was something between her and Nathanial the way they were laughing together. Jonathon could easily say something about it to Wilhem.
Wilhem would think that she was the kind of girl who would date one man and date another man at the same time, and that was not who she was—not at all. It concerned her that she liked both men.
Chapter 17
“I’ve been spending time with Jonathon,” Chelsea said at work the next day.
“And?” Tulip asked. “I already know you like one another. We have talked about it.” Chelsea had spoken as though she’d never mentioned Jonathan before.
“He’s surprisingly mature. He knows some people laugh about him and his weight and it doesn’t bother him. He’s got a health condition and he ballooned up when he took the medication to keep it under control.”
“Really? I didn’t know he was sick.”
“I know; neither did I. He wasn’t always the size he is and I never knew why he suddenly gained weight.”
“I feel awful. I had no idea.”
Chelsea leaned in and whispered, “I like him as more than friends.”
“You do? That’s fantastic. He’s such a nice man.”
“He is, and he’s so gentle and warm-hearted.”
Tulip felt all warm and fuzzy. She was glad she might’ve played a small part in the two of them finding love with each other.
“What’s happening with Wilhem?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’m going out with him tomorrow night. He’s picking me up from here.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Normally it would be, but I can’t help worrying because I went out with Nathanial Schumacher once and he thinks I like him, and, well, maybe I do, but not as much as Wilhem.”
“I see. You like both of them for different reasons.”
“I guess, but Wilhem seems to be the more reliable one. I didn’t tell you I liked Nathanial before because I didn’t want to tell anyone.”
“Are you choosing Wilhem because he’s reliable, or does your heart tell you that he’s the one you want?”
She shook her head. “Why is everything so complicated?”
“It’s not. It shouldn’t be.”
“My mudder says a woman should choose a man with her head and not her heart,” Tulip said.
“You’re the one who has to live with your choice, so just be sure you choose right.”
Tulip giggled. “Denke, but that was no help at all.”
“I’m not your mudder,” Chelsea said with a grin. “Shh. Here comes Audrey.”
Both girls stopped talking when their boss came into the bakery.
* * *
Later that night, Tulip was sitting with her family around the dinner table.
“We met a new man today,” Daisy said. “He said you know him, Tulip.”
“Who is he?”
“His name is Nathanial Schumacher,” Daisy replied.
Tulip gulped. She hadn’t given the slightest thought to one of her sisters snatching away a man she liked. But she hadn’t given him any encouragement yesterday when he wanted to drive her home.
Their mother dropped her fork onto her plate when she heard the man’s name. “Where did you meet him?”
“At the supermarket.”
Mr. Yoder frowned at his wife. “You let them go alone?”
“I thought they should start to take on some small responsibilities since they’re getting older.”
“We didn’t have one accident with the buggy,” Lily added. “We drove slow and the horse is fine.”
“We hitched it and unhitched it by ourselves and rubbed the horse down and everything just like you showed us.”
Their father scratched his beard in an agitated manner. “I suppose that’s progress.”
“Anyway, Nathanial’s very nice. I thought we might be able to have him over for dinner one night,” Daisy said.
Lily added, “Along with his cousin, Matthew Schumacher, because he’s staying at Matthew’s place.”
Tulip stared at their mother. She knew Mamm liked Matthew because her oldest daughter was married to Mark, Matthew’s older brother.
“We’ll see.” Mrs. Yoder picked up her fork and started eating.
“Mamm, you always say that when you mean ‘no’ and don’t want to say it,” Daisy said.
“Since Dat is the deacon, I think it’s only reasonable to welcome visitors and newcomers to the community by having them over for dinner,” Lily said.
Their father leaned back in his chair and stared at Lily, who was sitting next to him. “And since when have you developed this sense of what a deacon should do?”
Lily shrugged. “I’ve been watching my lovely vadder and how nice and hospitable he’s always been to everyone.”
Mr. Yoder laughed, while his wife was glaring at Daisy, the twin who’d raised the subject of Nathanial Schumacher.
He glanced at his wife’s stern face. “It’s your mudder who runs the haus. She has the say on the matter.”
“And, as I already said, we’ll see.” Her tone was firm.
“Well, that makes things kind of awkward,” Daisy said.
“Why?” Mrs. Yoder asked.
“We already invited them to dinner. They’re coming on Wednesday night.”
Tulip looked on in silence as their mother reprimanded the twins.
“Is there something you don’t like about them, Mamm?” Daisy asked. “We always have people over for the evening meal. And many people drop by without being invited.”
“Yeah, Mamm. Why are you like this about Nathanial and Matthew?”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’ve got no problem with either of them. Of course I don’t.”
“So, it’s all right for Wednesday night?” Daisy asked.
“It would be embarrassing if we had to cancel,” Lily added.
“Nee, you can’t cancel. It’ll be okay.” She glanced at her husband and he remained silent.
* * *
In her room later that night, Tulip was worried. Had Nathanial somehow gotten the twins to invite him because he liked her, or was it one of the twins he was interested in? What would happen when Wilhem found out that Nathanial had been invited to her house, but he hadn’t been invited?
Tulip changed into her nightgown and ripped off her prayer kapp and threw it on her nightstand. Without brushing out her hair, she slipped between the covers.
Tossing and turning, many solutions traveled through her mind. Perhaps she should invite Wilhem as well? But then he’d be sure to find out that she’d been out with Nathanial.
One thing was for certain, if she found out that Nathanial was using the twins to get to her, she’d be mighty annoyed. She knew by the way the twins had been talking that one of them liked him.
Chapter 18
Tulip waited outside the cake store after closing on Tuesday for Wilhem to take her on their date. It wasn’t long before she saw a buggy heading toward her. It was Wilhem driving it.
“Hello,” she said as she climbed into the buggy.
“Hello.”
“Where are we off to?”
“It’s a surprise.”
He didn’t have to do anything special. She just liked to spend time with him and that would’ve been enough. But it sounded too gooey to tell him that, so she stayed silent.
“It’s not too much of a surprise. I’ve just picked up the keys for the haus. I thought I’d take you there first and show you through it. I would’ve cooked you dinner, but there’s no furniture there yet.”
“That’s exciting. When do you move in?”
“Tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry, I missed that—you can cook?”
“Yeah. Why’s that so surpr
ising? I can do lots of things. I can even sew, and what’s more it was my grossdaddi who showed me how to sew. He told me that he was out in the fields one day and cut himself on some wire. There were no hospitals in those days, not close by anyway. He either had to sew the cut closed or bleed to death. So, he sewed the cut shut.”
“Ooohh! That’s an awful story. I’m glad you didn’t tell me that while we were eating. Yuck!”
Wilhem laughed. “Awful maybe, but it’s true.”
“And that’s why he thought you should learn to sew? In case you cut yourself open?”
“Not exactly. Things like that do come in handy, though. Mind you, I didn’t say I was a good cook, I just said I could cook. I’m not good at sewing either.”
Tulip laughed.
He stopped the buggy close to the house. “We’ve still got some daylight left.”
* * *
He showed Tulip through the small house that he was going to share with his cousin, Jonathon. Wilhem was acting like he hadn’t heard anything about the friendly way she’d been speaking with Nathanial on the Sunday just gone and Tulip couldn’t have been more relieved.
The house had only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and one living area. It was small but cozy. The living room and the kitchen were floored with gray slate tiles.
“It’s nice. I think you’ll be happy here.”
“I’m sure we will be. Now let’s have dinner.”
He’d booked a table at an Italian restaurant in town. They had to travel back along the roads they’d just traveled down.
“I’m glad you like it here in this county, Wilhem.”
“I do. There seems to be so much more happening here than back home.”
“I’ve only ever lived here.”
“Trust me, it’s a nice place to live. And I’ve got work lined up for the next three months.”
“I’m happy for you.”
He smiled at her and when their eyes met, she knew she’d made the right decision, choosing him over Nathanial.
Once they’d parked the buggy close to the restaurant, they walked up the road together. The chill of the night air bit into her cheeks, causing her to shiver.
Amish Tulip Page 7
