Melting Hearts

by Kathleen Fuller

  A few minutes later he was back and sat down in the chair near the couch. He picked up a skein of baby-pink yarn. “How do you do this?”

  She looked at him. “You want to help me?”

  “Why not? Atlee and Carolyn might turn in early, but that doesn’t mean I have to.” He started to pull on one of the yarn ends.

  “Wait.” She took the skein from him. “Don’t do it like that. You’ll get it tangled.” She proceeded to show him how to wind the yarn into a ball, and then she handed it to him, certain he’d get bored with the process soon and leave.

  He took the ball and the skein and started winding. The doors to the woodstove were open, and although the flames inside were low, she could hear the crackle of the fire, and the cozy scent of burning wood filled the room. Outside, the wind had picked up, and she heard a distant howl as they wound yarn in the low light of the gas lamp.

  Peter finished the pink yarn and set the ball on the couch. Then he picked up a skein of bulky beige yarn and tore off the paper wrapper around it. “What did you say you were going to use these for again?”

  She hadn’t said, but she didn’t see any reason not to tell him. She explained about the charity box at Noelle’s store.

  “So you’re going to give away everything you make?” He looked surprised.

  “Except for a few things I’ve already made or started for mei familye.” And Lizzy, but she didn’t mention her name. She and Peter were getting along for once, and she didn’t want to ruin that.

  “That’s generous of you,” he said, his blue eyes still filled with surprise.

  She shrugged as she wound a ball of sparkly red yarn. This one had been on special, and while it was too fancy for her, she imagined some woman or even a teenager enjoying the pretty color. “I’d have bought more, but I didn’t have enough money with me. I think it’s wonderful that Noelle is so dedicated to making sure as many people as possible have something warm to wear during the winter. She told me several yarn shops in the greater Akron area do the same thing.” She smiled and looked at him. “I’m just doing mei small part.”

  “Not so small,” he said, glancing at all the yarn. “How will you get it all done?”

  “I’m fast.” She grinned.

  He grinned back. “That I can believe.”

  They rolled in silence, and to Mattie’s amazement, Peter stuck with it until the very last ball. It was past ten o’clock when Mattie stood, and she winced as she moved her shoulder.

  “Did you put ice on that?” Peter asked.

  “Nee.” She touched it. It did feel a little swollen.

  “Geh into the kitchen and get some ice,” he ordered. “Or I’m going to unwind all these balls, and you’ll have to start over.”

  “All right,” she said, unable to keep from smiling. “I’ll geh.”

  Peter turned toward the woodstove as she was leaving, no doubt to stir the embers and close the doors. In the kitchen, she put some ice in a clean dishcloth and then sat down. After placing the ice pack on the table, she pushed her dress off her shoulder a little to take a look. She had to lift her shoulder a bit so she could really see, and she grimaced when she saw a purplish bruise had already formed.

  “That’s a doozy.”

  She looked up to see Peter standing there, in his sock feet so she hadn’t heard him approach. She let go of her dress so it once more covered her shoulder.

  His expression was somber as he moved one of the chairs closer to hers and sat down. “It must hurt a lot.”

  “It’s not bad.” Although now that she’d seen the bruise, she felt more pain. That had to be psychological, because she hadn’t felt much discomfort while she was winding the yarn. Then again, she’d used her wrists more than her shoulders.

  “Here.” Peter picked up the ice pack and put it against her shoulder. When she moved to take it from him, he shook his head. “I’m so sorry I did this to you.”

  “It was an accident, Peter.”

  “Still.” He gently pressed it further.

  She wasn’t sure what to do. She’d never been this close to a boy before, unless she counted that time in fourth grade. All the kids were playing baseball, and of course she hit the ball straight to the pitcher. But he didn’t catch it. She ran, and Samuel Beachy knocked into her when he tagged her out.

  She fell down—and come to think of it, Peter had been the boy who helped her up.

  “Feeling better?”

  She didn’t notice any difference, but she nodded anyway.

  “Gut.” He smiled. “That makes me feel better too.”

  Mattie noticed a sparkle in his eyes when he said that, and she shivered. But surely that was because the wind had picked up outside, and because the cold ice against her shoulder coupled with the chill of the kitchen.

  Peter took her hand and put it against the ice pack. “Be right back.” He disappeared, leaving her to wonder where he was going. He returned right away with the quilted blanket Carolyn kept on the back of the couch, and he wrapped it around her shoulders. “This should help.”

  “Danki,” she murmured as he went to one of the cabinets. He pulled out two glasses and then took the milk out of the fridge. He poured them each half a glass and then set one glass in front of her. She watched him as he sat down next to her, taking a long drink of milk.

  She was so confused. How could he be this nice? She didn’t detect anything pretend about it. The concern over her shoulder seemed real. She hadn’t asked for milk, but he gave it to her anyway, knowing it would help make her sleepy. He’d also rolled at least six balls of yarn, one of the most boring activities she’d ever experienced, and he’d done it without one word of complaint or sarcasm. The man in front of her was nothing like the one Lizzy told her about.

  She put the ice pack down and took a sip of milk.

  Then she looked at Peter, hiding a frown. How she could trust him? Lizzy wouldn’t have lied about him. Or had she?

  Peter had always thought Mattie was an odd duck. That was one of the jokes going around in school, even in youth group—that she was weird. But never had she seemed like the shrew she turned into after he and Lizzy broke up, almost as if she were Lizzy. She was still a shrew when he showed up in Birch Creek, still believing the lies Lizzy had told her and anyone she could.

  But now he saw Mattie differently. She wasn’t odd or weird. She was generous, as he’d discovered when she told him her plans for the yarn. She was loyal too. She’d offered to stay in Birch Creek as long as Carolyn and her uncle needed her, even though that meant she probably wouldn’t see her family at Christmas. And she hadn’t complained about her shoulder. Surely she’d winced more than once when they were working in the living room, though, and he felt bad that he hadn’t noticed.

  Then again, he’d been focusing on the yarn and trying to reconcile the Mattie he’d known with the Mattie he was getting to know.

  It was all very strange.

  He picked up the ice pack, ready to put it back on her shoulder, but she shook her head. “I don’t need it anymore.”

  “Mattie, the longer you keep it on, the more the swelling will geh down.”

  She set down her glass and took the ice pack from him. “Then I’ll do it myself.” Her tone had a new edge to it, but he chalked that up to pain. When she pushed back from the table and got up, she said, “Danki for the milk and the quilt. I’m going to bed now.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want some pain reliever? I can get that for you.”

  “Just stop!” she said, her voice definitely sharp now. “What is all this?”

  He was confused. “All what?”

  “Yer being nice to me. I already said you don’t have to feel guilty about mei shoulder.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then why the milk? The quilt?” She started to shake, and he didn’t know if it was because she was cold or angry. “Or are you making fun of me?”

  “What?” He stood. “How is taking care of you making fun of you?”


  “Because . . . because . . .” Her bottom lip trembled. “Because nee one has ever been this nice to me before.”

  Peter was shocked. “Nee one?”

  She looked away. “You don’t have to feel guilty, and you don’t have to be nice to me. I gave you mei word that I would treat you with respect. I don’t geh back on mei word.” She started to leave the kitchen.

  He couldn’t stop himself from touching her arm. “What if I want to be nice to you?”

  Mattie whirled around. “Why? I’ve been nix but horrible to you.”

  That was true. However, he’d seen a different side of Mattie tonight, one he found appealing. “I’m always nice to mei friends,” he said.

  “We’re not friends.”

  “But maybe we could be?”

  6

  MATTIE WAS DUMBFOUNDED. PETER WANTED TO BE friends? It was one thing for them to be civil to each other, but friends? “We don’t even like each other.”

  “Ouch. You sure know how to wound a guy.” But he didn’t look all that wounded. “Friendship isn’t hard, Mattie.” He frowned a little. “At least it shouldn’t be.” He paused. “Have you heard from Lizzy lately?”

  “Nee.” Her eyes narrowed. “Is that why you want to be friends? So you can try to get back together with her?”

  He scowled. “Absolutely not. I’d rather have a root canal. Make that three.” He met her gaze. “I will never, ever, ever get back with Lizzy.”

  “Don’t worry,” Mattie said, lifting her chin. “She’s already moved on.”

  “I’m sure with several other guys.” He paused again. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Although it was true that Lizzy had dated and discarded several suitors in a matter of months, Mattie didn’t want to listen to him disparage her best friend. “I’m going to bed,” she repeated, again turning to leave the kitchen.

  “You didn’t answer mei question.”

  She let out a sigh and spun around. “What question?”

  “Have you heard from Lizzy since you’ve been here?”

  “That’s none of yer business.”

  He stood and walked over to her. “Maybe not, but since you’re evading the question, I’ll take that as a nee.” He hesitated, but then he said, “You’ve been away from home for weeks. Wouldn’t a friend have contacted you? At least once?”

  “She’s busy.” That’s what Lizzy’s mother said when Mattie called just after she arrived in Birch Creek. And the letter she sent soon after had gone unanswered. Mattie understood being busy since she was busy herself. But I made time to get in touch with her. Familiar disappointment went through her. This wasn’t the first time Lizzy had let her down, and she always had an excuse. She was busy or she forgot or she misunderstood. Like the time she was supposed to meet Mattie at the diner for dinner, bringing along her current boyfriend and his cousin. It would have been Mattie’s first double date . . . actually, her first date ever. None of them had shown up, and Lizzy had brushed it off, saying she’d mixed up days. She never offered to reschedule.

  “Mattie,” Peter said, his tone gentle. “Lizzy’s not yer friend.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat, unwilling to consider that statement as truth despite her disappointments. “And you are? We barely know each other.”

  “That’s true. We grew up together, but we don’t really know each other.” He shook his head and looked down at the floor. “How did we let that happen?” he said, sounding as though he were talking to himself more than to her. Then he looked up at her again. “Let’s give this friendship thing a chance. What do you think?”

  She didn’t respond right away. She’d spent so much time believing the worst of Peter, and before that she’d seen him as the handsome boy who would never give her the time of day because she wasn’t like Lizzy. Now he was shattering everything she’d believed about him, had expected of him. “What would Lizzy think?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Who cares what she thinks? You have a mind of yer own. You decide, and then let me know in the morning.” He lightly turned her around, avoiding her bruise. “Now, geh to bed, and make sure you rest that shoulder.”

  In a daze, she left the kitchen and climbed the stairs, trying to understand what had just happened. Peter wanted to be her friend. Even stranger, the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. But was she betraying Lizzy? She could never do that to her best friend. And Lizzy was her friend, no matter what Peter said, no matter how Lizzy sometimes disappointed her.

  But what if Peter could be a friend too?

  When Peter came downstairs for breakfast the next morning, the mouthwatering aroma of bacon frying and biscuits baking made his stomach growl. Both Carolyn and Mattie were excellent cooks, and Atlee wasn’t too shabby himself. Peter had never eaten so well in his life. When he came to the kitchen doorway, he saw Carolyn and Mattie standing side by side near the stove. To his surprise, they were also bickering.

  “You know I’m going stir-crazy being home all day.” Carolyn turned over thick strips of bacon in a cast-iron frying pan. “It won’t hurt for me to work in the bakery for a couple of hours each day.”

  “Aenti,” Mattie said, frowning. “You’re supposed to rest.”

  “Ya, but the doctor didn’t say I had to turn into a couch potato. Make that a big Christmas potato.”

  “I don’t think there is such a thing.”

  “Well, if there is, I’ll turn into one if I don’t find something more to do besides light housework and cooking.”

  “Wouldn’t being a couch potato be worth a healthy boppli and mamm?”

  Carolyn turned to face Mattie, the bacon sizzling beside her. “Of course it would.” She sighed. “You’re right, not to mention that Atlee would have a fit if I tried to work at the bakery. But what else can I do? I can’t just sit around.”

  “How about I teach you how to crochet?” Mattie said. “It’s easy, and you’ll be making something in nee time. That’s a gut skill to have for making Christmas presents! I can show you how to make scarves and hats, if you want.”

  “I tried crocheting when I was younger. I didn’t have the patience or the time.” She shifted and turned off the heat under the bacon. Then she picked up tongs and started placing the strips on a plate covered with a paper towel.

  “You have the time now.” Mattie put her hand on Carolyn’s shoulder. Peter couldn’t see her face, but he could clearly detect her encouraging tone. “And you’ll need patience when the boppli gets here. Why not gain some now?”

  Carolyn turned around, gave her a hug, and then released her. “You’re a wise maedel, Mattie. Word about our boppli is already spreading because I’m not at the bakery, and mei friends want to get together when I’m ready. Maybe sometime soon I can have them over to do crafts. Cevilla crochets, and Abigail Bontrager knits. Naomi Beiler and Rhoda Troyer like to do cross-stitch.”

  “That sounds like a great idea.”

  “When can you teach me?” Carolyn asked, now sounding excited about learning something new.

  “Tonight, after supper.”

  Atlee came through the back door, his cheeks red from the cold. “Those pigs were greedy things this morning.” He started to take off his coat, but then he stopped and squinted his eyes at Mattie and Carolyn. “What are you two plotting?”

  “Us?” Carolyn said as both women faced him. “We’re not plotting anything. But if we were, how dare you risk spoiling a Christmas surprise!”

  He tilted his head and looked at them a bit longer. “Something’s up, and I don’t think it has anything to do with Christmas,” he said as he took off his coat and hung it on a peg near the door. “But I’ll let you keep yer womanly secrets.”

  Peter chuckled, and they all looked at him standing in the doorway. “What’s so funny?” Atlee asked.

  Not wanting them to realize he’d been eavesdropping, he said, “Nix. Just thought about something funny. Wow, breakfast smells appeditlich. Can I help with anything?”
r />   “It’s all taken care of,” Carolyn said. “Just sit down.”

  Peter did as he was told, and Mattie and Carolyn set out the food as Atlee washed his hands. Mattie didn’t look at Peter, and he wondered if she’d thought about what he’d proposed the night before. He’d surprised himself by suggesting they be friends, but now that the idea was out there, it wasn’t a bad one. Better friends than enemies since they saw each other every day.

  Yet his suggestion was about more than proximity. He was starting to like Mattie, which threw him for a little loop.

  After they’d all said a silent prayer, Peter placed a biscuit on his plate, and then he looked up to see Atlee staring at him just before he snapped his fingers. “I remember what I wanted to tell you, Peter. I’ve got a spare pair of gloves. I noticed you don’t have any.”

  Peter took three slices of bacon. “I’d appreciate borrowing them. It’s going to be cold today.”

  “It already is.”

  Carolyn told the men about Mattie teaching her how to crochet, and then Atlee and Peter discussed their work plans for the day. Peter was going to start digging out the foundation for the addition, and Atlee wanted to help if business was slow at the bakery. “Business hasn’t been slow for a while, though,” he said, “so I’m not sure how much help I’ll be.”

  “I’m sorry, Peter.” Carolyn pushed her plate away, finished with her meal. “We didn’t mean for you to do such a big job by yerself.”

  “I can’t think of a better reason for it,” he said, meaning the words. A surprise baby—and some might say a miracle baby—was worth a little extra work. He and Mattie were on the same page about that.

  He looked at Mattie. She’d avoided eye contact throughout the meal, and he had the sinking feeling she was going to refuse his offer of friendship. He couldn’t blame her, in a way. Lizzy had been in Mattie’s orbit much longer than she’d been in his, and he realized now that she had manipulated Mattie as much as she’d manipulated him, if not more, which he really resented. He also wouldn’t push Mattie into a friendship she didn’t want.