Rosemary Opens Her Heart: Home at Cedar Creek, Book Two (6 page)

Again Abby’s heart went out to Rosemary and Beth Ann. If she could think of a way
for a new rug to appear at the Yutzys’ house…or if she could convince Beth Ann to
send those fabric strips to Zanna for crocheting into the rug Alma Yutzy had intended
to make…

“Which two colors of this crepe do you like best, Beth Ann?” Rosemary asked, steering
the conversation along a different route. “As fast as you sew, you could make yourself
a couple of new dresses before this Sunday’s church service. Your dresses from last
summer
might be too short by now. You’ve gotten taller these last couple of months.”

Beth Ann immediately pointed to a bolt of cornflower blue and to another one the color
of butterscotch. “I could make you a dress, too, Rosemary,” she insisted again, pointing
to the bolt of lavender. “That way you’d have a pretty dress ready for whenever you
feel like wearing it.”

“Plenty of time for that—but denki for thinking of me. We could make a dress for Katie
from that lavender, though…and another one from that dark gold you’ve picked out for
yourself.” Rosemary’s expression said they would discuss her wardrobe no further,
so Beth Ann pulled out the three bolts of fabric they had chosen.

Abby picked up the sharp shears from the table where she measured customers’ cloth.
“This poly crepe is sixty inches wide,” she said as she unrolled a length of the cornflower
blue. “How much would you like, Beth Ann? Probably takes about two and a half yards
for a new cape dress in your size.”

“Jah, that’ll do for me. And it won’t take but a yard for each of Katie’s.” The young
girl looked frustrated, but apparently she knew not to argue with Rosemary. “And cut
eight yards of the black Triblend for Dat’s pants, please. That should be enough for
three pairs, plus some patches for the old ones he wears to muck out the barn.”

Abby fetched a thick, heavy bolt of the Triblend denim most women made their men’s
work pants and jackets from—a blend of denim, nylon, and polyester that didn’t fade
or fray like cotton denim, so the garments lasted a lot longer. As Abby measured,
Beth Ann marveled over the ginghams and calico prints Sam kept on hand for quilting.
The Cedar Creek Mercantile supplied many of the area’s English and Plain women with
fabrics for their clothing and crafts, so it wasn’t unusual for their customers to
spend a long time in the fabric section.

“Oh, Abby, did you make this?” Beth Ann asked in an excited voice. “What a nice jacket
for spring.”

Abby glanced over to where Beth Ann was holding up a lightweight collarless coat pieced
from pink and green prints. “Jah, I make a lot of those. The English tourists seem
to like the mixed-print jackets best, but I sew them in solids for Plain gals—and
we sell the pattern for it, too.”

Rosemary was already walking toward the tall file cabinets where the sewing patterns
were stored. “Now there’s a gut idea for you, young lady,” she said to Beth Ann. “Perfect
to wear to school so your Sunday coat will last another season, don’t you think? And
you’ve got a lot of solid colors to choose from in this twill, too.”

“Can I have the royal blue?” Beth Ann asked eagerly.

“Jah, you
may
have that color,” Rosemary corrected in a teasing voice. “And I’ll buy that for you
myself if you’ll make me a jacket from the gray.”

“I can do that!” Beth Ann was hurrying down another aisle, toward the yarn in the
store’s far corner. “And could you teach me to crochet, Rosemary? I could make a new
afghan for the back of the couch. Or I could make a rag rug from the strips Mamm was
sewing together.”

“Maybe someday,” Rosemary answered with a laugh. “We’ve lined up several projects
for you already.”

Abby smoothed the blue crepe over the small channel in the table that kept her shears
cutting in a straight line. “It’s gut to see her so excited about sewing,” she remarked.
“These colors will make everybody feel like a new season’s come along—and Katie,”
she added, tweaking the toddler’s cheek, “
you
will make everyone smile when you wear these pretty new dresses.”

“Smile—and chase after her. This little imp moves faster than any of us think her
legs can carry her,” Rosemary remarked with a shake of her head. “It’s a gut thing
Beth Ann sews our clothes. I no sooner get settled at the machine than I have a daughter
on the loose. I don’t know how mamms with more than one child get their work done.”

“Before you know it, she’ll be wearing kapps and going to school,” Abby replied. “Next
she’ll be Beth Ann’s age and then entering her rumspringa in the blink of an eye.”

“I can’t think about time moving that fast right now. But thank you, Abby, for bringing
us into the store,” she went on. “Beth Ann asks for so little. This is a real treat
for her.”

“I was that way, too—ever so long ago when I was twelve.” Abby laughed as she folded
the fabric she had cut. “Take your time looking around while I show Beth Ann my Stitch
in Time nook.”

“Oh, she’ll love that. She’s always said she’d like to earn money sewing at home,
once she’s finished school.”

Abby laid the armful of fabric in the shopping cart while Rosemary secured her baby
in the seat. As she strode to the steps, her heart swelled. While most Plain girls
learned to sew as a matter of course, not many of them got as excited about it as
Beth Ann did. She apparently had a God-given gift for it, too.

“I see you’ve found my little corner,” Abby remarked as she turned at the top of the
stairs. “When I sit at my sewing machine, there beside the railing, I can see almost
everyone in the store. If Sam’s busy with a customer or unloading the supply truck,
I can go downstairs and help other folks with what they need.”

Beth Ann nodded, wide-eyed, as she sat in the chair that faced the old treadle sewing
machine. Her gaze flitted from the shelves of sewing notions and projects Abby had
in the works to the curtained closet that served as a fitting room. “So what all do
you make?” she asked. “Do you mostly sew for folks who order stuff? Or do you keep
busy making those placemats and jackets to sell in the store?”

“That’s a very gut question. It means you’re really thinking.” Abby noticed that Beth
Ann’s legs and arms seemed long in proportion to her body, as though she would grow
tall like her mamm one of these days, while her adolescent face gave only a hint of
how her features would finish out. “I started out sewing placemats, napkins,
and jackets for our store when I got out of school. And a couple years ago, I made
the curtains for your aunt Lois’s restaurant—”

“Mother Yutzy’s Oven? She makes the best sticky buns on the planet,” Beth Ann said
matter-of-factly.

“Jah, she does. I made matching tablecloths for her place, too.” Abby picked up a
scrap of periwinkle fabric, smiling fondly. “I sewed Zanna’s wedding dress from this
fabric, and I made Matt and Jonny’s pants, vests, and white shirts. I also sew for
a lot of older fellows who have lost their wives.”

Beth Ann was nodding. “I could do that, maybe even before I finish school,” she said
in a faraway voice. “When I’m at the machine, with my feet going in a gut, steady
rhythm on the treadle and my mind focused on what I’m stitching, I lose all track
of everything else, you know?”

“Jah, I do that, too,” Abby whispered, feeling a tug at her heartstrings. This child,
lonely for her mamm, had discovered the perfect remedy for times when her soul sagged.
“I get lost in my sewing and when I look up, I think Sam has surely moved the hands
of the clock forward to fool me.”

When Abby glanced at the regulator clock above the stockroom, her eyes widened. “I
should ring up your bill and get back to helping with the supper now,” she remarked.
“See there? Getting to know you and Rosemary has made the afternoon fly by!”

The smile on Beth Ann’s face gratified Abby immensely, and as the two of them descended
to the mercantile’s main floor, she had a prayer in her heart.
Lord, You’ve blessed me with so many fine moments during Zanna’s wedding, and now
with two new friends. I hope You’ll bless Rosemary, Beth Ann, and Titus, too, and
bring them peace as they move into the future.

A few minutes later, the three of them were walking toward Titus’s carriage with a
paper shopping sack of fabric and another full of kitchen supplies. From the greenhouse,
where a few windows had been opened, came the sound of dozens of young voices singing
a
favorite hymn. While the married women finished preparing the evening meal in Barbara’s
kitchen, most of their men were scattered around the lawn visiting and enjoying the
warm afternoon.

“Can you believe it’s almost time for supper?” Beth Ann remarked. “Seems like we just
finished our dinner.”

Abby held the carriage door open while Beth Ann arranged their bags in the back. “And
I thank you both for helping us with the sandwiches and the silverware—”

“Beth Ann!” a familiar voice called from the house, and then Ruthie hurried down the
gravel lane toward them. Because she was still in school—too young to attend singings—she
was in high gear, helping the adults keep the festivities on track. “When they finish
singing this hymn, it’ll be time to put out that silverware we bundled, and the plates.
If you’d help me, it would go lots quicker.”

Beth Ann’s face brightened. “I can set a table faster than you can!”

“Puh! We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

As the two girls hurried off, Abby closed the carriage door. “Ruthie is certainly
glad you two came today. And if your Katie needs a nap, I’ll be happy to take you
to my place,” she added, pointing toward the smaller house beyond Sam and Barbara’s
two-story home. “She can snooze on my guest bed.”

Rosemary’s green eyes glimmered with gratitude. “Denki for all you’ve done for us,
Abby. We left home before dawn, so Katie might not be the only one who curls up for
a few winks, depending on when Titus plans to leave. I’ll go ask him.”

Abby walked alongside her until they got to Sam and Barbara’s house, where several
women were carrying food from the kitchen to the greenhouse. “See you later,” she
said, patting Katie’s dimpled knee.

As Abby left the kitchen a few minutes later, balancing platters of sandwiches, the
young people surged out into the fresh air so the greenhouse could be readied for
the evening meal. Already in the yard, Matt wore an expression that made Abby chuckle:
her nephew
had apparently been watching for the Yutzys to leave the mercantile. He beelined toward
Rosemary, but remained several steps behind her when he saw that she was approaching
Titus. Meanwhile, he was making funny faces at Katie, coaxing the toddler to laugh
at him over Rosemary’s shoulder.

And wasn’t
that
interesting?

Abby entered the greenhouse and placed her trays on two of the tables. She watched
Beth Ann and Ruthie setting out the silverware while Beulah Mae Nissley, Adah Ropp,
and Bessie Mast swept beneath the tables. What a blessing that they could serve today’s
meals in this glass building. Cut flowers and bridal bouquets had no place at a Plain
wedding, but the potted hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils her grandmother had grown
to sell in Treva’s Greenhouse made such a beautiful addition to the white-draped tables.
The late-afternoon sun brightened the entire room so much it would almost be like
they were eating outdoors.

As she glanced outside at the gathering crowd, Abby caught sight of James Graber.
He was facing in her direction as he laughed with Gideon and Jonny Ropp…Such a wonderful
smile he had, and such a forgiving heart. Not many men would have accepted Zanna’s
rejection as gracefully as he had. And not many fellows would befriend the man who
had stolen his bride, either. James had designed and constructed Jonny’s new horse-drawn
van and had completed the special vehicle ahead of other buggy orders so that Jonny
could start his mechanical repair business sooner.

And weren’t James’s gentle smile and his forgiving nature just two of the reasons
Abby wished he would see her as more than a friend? She headed back to the house for
another tray of food, returning James’s wave when he caught sight of her. Maybe—if
she was lucky—a little of the romance in the spring air would bring them closer today.
It couldn’t hurt to hope so.

R
osemary stood alongside a cluster of gray-bearded men, hugging her daughter while
waiting to get Titus’s attention. Katie was in one of her giggly moods, so Rosemary
swung her from side to side, reveling in her smile and the golden highlights the sun
brought out in her braids.

Titus was having a fine time catching up with fellows he’d known as a boy in Cedar
Creek. It was good to see him enjoying conversation that didn’t concern Alma or Joe
or what he’d been missing since their deaths. Maybe coming to the wedding would improve
all of their moods, if only because Joe’s dat had forgotten his sorrow for these hours
he’d spent among friends.

When Uncle Ezra finished his story about an old fishing hole they had frequented as
boys, Rosemary spoke up. “Will we be staying for the supper, Titus?” she asked quietly.
“We’ve loaded our shopping bags into the carriage—”