A Season of Love (13 page)

Katie nodded. “I’m making them for Jake and also for Ruthie and Amanda. The three of us had lunch together today, and we had a really nice time.”

“Oh.” Sadie stood before her with a confused expression. “I thought you were working at the bakery tomorrow. Are you going to the furniture store?”

Katie ignored the curious expressions she could see her siblings shooting her. “Jake and
Daadi
are working at the bakery. They’re building new display cabinets for
Mammi.
He had lunch with us today, and I wanted to bring him a surprise tomorrow when we eat together. Jake told us he only eats frozen pizza for supper. I thought it would be fun to bring something in for a special lunch-time treat.”

“Do you like him?” Nancy asked with a big grin.

“No. I mean, I like him, but he’s
mei freind
,” Katie said. “We talked today and —”

“Katie,” Sadie interrupted. “Why would you make him a surprise? He’s a Mennonite
bu
who works for your
daadi.
It’s not appropriate.”

“We’re
freinden
,” Katie repeated, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut about Jake. She’d never expected this much fuss over homemade pretzels. “We simply had lunch with my cousins and talked on the porch a bit. I made chocolate chip
kichlin
to share with him,
Daadi
, Amanda, and Ruthie today, and everyone loved them. I thought it would be nice to bring him, Ruthie, and Amanda a couple of pretzels tomorrow.”

Grimacing, Sadie shook her head. “Katie, that’s inappropriate. He’s Mennonite.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “If your
daed
heard you were making special goodies for a Mennonite
bu
, he would be very upset.” She wagged a finger at Katie. “You’re a baptized
maedel
now. You know better than this.”

Katie lifted her arms with frustration, causing flour to sprinkle down toward the floor like confetti. “I’m making them for everyone at the bakery,
Mamm.
Besides, I can’t have
freinden
who aren’t Amish?”

Sadie shook her head. “Having
freinden
is one thing, but having lunch and baking for a Mennonite
bu
is something completely different.” She pointed toward the pretzels. “You may bake these, but don’t bring them just to Jake. You can share them with everyone at the bakery.”

Katie nodded. “I know,
Mamm.
I already told you I was going to share them with everyone.”

Sadie glanced at Nancy. “You’re going to help your
schweschder
finish this up?”

“Ya
,
”
Nancy said. “Then I’ll bathe Aaron if you need me to.”

Sadie shook her head. “I’ll do it.” She started toward the
doorway and then glanced back at Katie. “I mean it about the pretzels. You don’t want your
dat
to hear about this.”

Katie nodded with a frown. Why couldn’t her mother understand she and Jake simply liked to talk, and that was it? Besides, they weren’t even having lunch alone.

When her mother disappeared, Katie turned to Samuel. “Did you see Lizzie Anne today?” she asked. “I heard you tell
Mamm
you might try to stop by Naomi’s to see her.”

Samuel leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest. “I did. She’s doing well. She’s enjoying babysitting for her sister, and she’s looking forward to the birth of her new niece or nephew pretty soon now.”

“Did you discuss the wedding?” Nancy asked, placing another pretzel on the sheet.

“We did. We’re looking at the second week in December.” He grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the jar by the sink and bit into it.

“Oh, dear,” Nancy said with a gasp. “That doesn’t give you very long to plan. That’s less than three months away.”

“I know, but that’s what Lizzie Anne wants.” He straightened and walked toward the family room. “Let me know when the pretzels are done.”

Katie shook her head once he was out of earshot. “I can’t believe they want to get married so quickly. What’s the hurry?”

Nancy grinned. “I think it’s romantic.”

Katie snorted. “You’re
gegisch.
” She gestured toward the pretzel dough. “Let’s finish these up so we can get them in the oven.”

9

T
he following day at noon, Katie sat next to Jake at the same table on the porch. The new bakers, including Hannah, Fannie, and Vera, who were all in their mid-twenties, sat at the same table but talked among themselves about their husbands and the weather.

“How’s your day going?” Katie asked Jake while opening her lunch bag.

“It’s going well.” He pulled his bologna sandwich from his lunch bag. “How about yours?”

“Fine. I brought a surprise for everyone.” She retrieved a half dozen homemade pretzels from the zipper storage bag she’d packed in the bottom of her lunch bag. “I made these last night. I’d hoped to bring more, but my siblings enjoyed them more than I’d expected they would.” She placed them in the center of the table, and Hannah thanked her while taking one.

“Enjoy them,” Katie said. She bowed her head in silent prayer. When she looked up, she found Jake holding a pretzel.

Jake smiled. “This is so nice of you. I don’t know what to say.”

“
Danki
will suffice.” Katie said. “I had fun making them. Nancy helped. I love baking with
mei schweschdern.
I’m hoping to teach Janie how to bake this year. She’s starting to show an interest, and it’s fun teaching her.”

“I’ve noticed that you like spending time with your family,” he said.

“Oh
ya.
” Katie couldn’t stop her smile. “I love being a part of a big family. I hope to have a big family myself someday.” She nodded toward his pretzel. “I hope you like it. I thought you might enjoy a change from frozen pizza.”

“You’re right,” he said before taking a bite. “Katie, these are outstanding. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.” She placed a few pieces of lunch meat on a piece of bread along with some cheese.

“How’s the project coming along?” Katie asked. “I saw you and
Daadi
have one cabinet disassembled.” She took a bite of her sandwich.

He nodded. “It’s coming along fine. I just hope the construction isn’t too intrusive for the customers.”

“Oh, not at all.” Katie wiped a napkin across her mouth. “It’s been fine. I ran the front earlier, and no one seemed annoyed by the construction noise. You and
Daadi
are very conscientious. If nothing else, the Englishers enjoy seeing an Amish carpenter and his apprentice at work.”

“Apprentice?” Jake asked with feigned offense. “You do realize I’m a true-blue carpenter, don’t you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Grinning, Katie held up her hand. “I didn’t realize I was in the presence of a real carpenter.” She laughed. “I’m only teasing you. I’m certain you’re a
wunderbaar gut
carpenter.” She studied his face. “Do you want to work at the furniture store for the rest of your life?”

“I do.” Jake pulled another piece off of his pretzel.

The other bakers were engrossed in a conversation about shoofly pie.

Jake leaned over the table toward Katie. “How about you?” he asked. “What do you want to do for the rest of your life? Continue working here with your family?”

Katie glanced down at her sandwich. “I really want what
every Amish girl wants — a family.” She looked up at him and he smiled. “I want a farm like my parents have, and I want a big family. It’s my dream to be like
mei mamm
, you know? Marry and raise
mei kinner
in the Amish faith, hopefully in this district alongside
mei freindshaften
and
mei freinden.
Family is very important to me.”

“That makes sense.” He took another pretzel. “How was your evening? Did you do anything else other than make
appeditlich
pretzels?” He held a pretzel out to her. “Would you like one?”

She shook her head as she chewed her sandwich. “Thank you, but I had one last night. Actually the pretzels took up most of my evening.” She remembered her conversation in the kitchen with her siblings. “Oh, I did find out something interesting.”

“What was that?”

“Samuel said he and Lizzie Anne want to get married the second week in December.”

Jake’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“I had the same reaction when he told me.” Katie paused as two customers walked by the table and entered the bakery. “That doesn’t give them much time.”

“No, it sure doesn’t. But if that makes them happy, then who are we to judge, right?”

“You’re right.” She sipped from her cup of water and tried to look excited for them. “I’m certain they will be very happy together. They do get along well, and I think they’re very much in love. And, of course, I’ll love having Lizzie Anne as
mei schweschder
since she’s one of
mei
best
freinden.
”

Jake didn’t look convinced. “Is something bothering you? You look like you’re a little down.”

Katie sighed. “It’s just kind of difficult to watch
mei freinden
move on while I’m stuck in the same place.” She forced a smile. “But I’m very happy Lindsay and Matthew are dating and Sam and Lizzie Anne are getting married. How could I not be happy for them, right?”

He looked sympathetic. “It has to be difficult watching your friends’ lives change while yours is still the same.”

“It is, but I wish them well.” Katie needed to change the subject. “How was your evening?” she asked.

He shrugged. “The usual. I ate frozen pizza and read a magazine. After that, I did a load of laundry and then headed to bed early.”

Katie frowned. “Another frozen pizza?”

He laughed. “You’re appalled, right? I bet you eat a square meal every night.”

“No, no,” she said quickly. “To each his own.” She wished she could make him supper sometime, but she knew her mother wouldn’t approve. If she was upset over pretzels, she would definitely lose her temper if Katie asked to invite Jake over for a meal. “That’s all you did? Just frozen pizza, a magazine, laundry, and bedtime?”

He paused, then looked as if he remembered something. “I also received an unexpected phone call.”

“Oh?”

“Jessica called me for the first time in nearly six months.” Jake shook his head and sipped his cup of water. “I was surprised, to say the least.”

“How’s she doing?” Katie asked.

“She’s fine. She’s busy at school.”

“That’s nice.” Katie bit into her sandwich and wished she had the nerve to ask what happened between him and Jessica. “Is she coming to visit soon? I’m certain Lindsay would love to see her.”

“She said she wants to come for the holidays. She won’t have time to come visit before then.”

“Oh.” Katie finished her sandwich while contemplating Jessica. “You’ll be
froh
to see her,
ya
?”

He nodded, considering the question. “It would be nice to see her again. We were close friends for four years.”

Curious, Katie wondered about his relationship with Jessica.

“But my feelings have definitely changed,” he continued. “She and I are just too different. We have different goals in life, and you can’t build a relationship when your hopes and dreams are worlds apart.”

“That makes sense,” she said. “I assume her goal in life is to live and work in a big city with a fancy job,
ya
?”

“That’s right. Our lives would never mesh.” He shook his head. “The last time we talked we had a disagreement. But we both knew we could never be together. After all, I’m Mennonite, and she’s not. Our lives are just too different.”

“I see what you’re saying,” Katie said. “Even so, you cared for each other, and it must have been difficult for you both to accept when the relationship ended.”

“It was at first, but we both had to move on. Tell me what you’re working on today,” he said, changing the subject. “What’s on your baking agenda this afternoon?”

Katie rattled off the list of items she planned to bake and the other chores she had to complete before the bakery closed. The conversation turned to the weather, and soon Katie realized that the lunch hour had flown by.

“I guess we’d better get back to work before we get ourselves fired.” Katie started collecting the trash. “I enjoyed lunch again today.”

“I did too,” he said. “The pretzels were the best part.”

Katie dropped the trash into a nearby can and then collected her lunch bag and cup. “I’m glad you liked the pretzels. I’ll have to think of something else to make for you tomorrow.”

“No, no,” Jake said. “Don’t do that. I don’t expect you to bake for me every day.”

“Ladies,” a voice called, “I need you in the kitchen, please.”

Katie turned and found her grandmother watching them. “We’re coming now,
Mammi.
” She met Jake’s gaze. “I’ll see you later.”

“Absolutely,” he said with a smile. “Thanks again.”

Katie walked back to the kitchen alongside the other bakers.

Friday afternoon, Katie stood in the bakery kitchen and mixed cookie dough while listening to the sound of rain pounding on the roof above her. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was almost time to head home. She still needed to check the supplies in the back pantry before she left. She grabbed a notepad and pen from the counter and rushed out of the kitchen to a large walk-in pantry located by the office.

Stepping inside, she made a list of which supplies were running low, including oil, flour, sugar, and sprinkles. It took a while, and when she walked back to the kitchen, she found it empty.

“Hello?” she called. “
Mammi
?
Aenti
Kathryn? Ruthie?” She wondered if everyone was out in front of the bakery waiting for the van. When she stepped over toward the counter, her foot slipped on a puddle of water, and she screeched as she fell onto her bottom.

Jake rushed into the kitchen. “Katie?” He held his hand out to her. “Are you okay?”