The Amish Bride (22 page)

P
enny didn’t return until nightfall. I met her at the door, explaining the voice mails before she had a chance to listen to them and assuring her Luke had taken me home. She gave me a hug and said she was glad I was safe. I told her I was sorry about the flat and that I would get it repaired. I decided to wait to tell her I would be leaving until I gave Kendra and Wes notice. I did say I had Wednesday off and asked if it would work for her to take me to Plain Treats. She said yes.

When I arrived at the restaurant the next morning, Wes asked me to make biscuits while he whipped up gravy. I followed his recipe closely, adding the flour, salt, and baking powder together, and then cutting in the butter. After I added the milk, I mixed the cold dough with my hands and then started kneading it, pushing my very being into the bowl.

“Easy does it.” Wes stood at the stove, a whisk in his hand. “You’re going to upend the kitchen.”

I backed off a little.

“Rough weekend?”

I nodded.

“Homesick?”

I nodded again.

“I would be too,” he said, adding more flour to the gravy.

I swiped at my eye with the back of my hand, sure he would understand my giving two-weeks’ notice. But I wanted to tell Kendra, not him. It wasn’t until the breakfast rush had started that Wes told me she wasn’t feeling well and that we’d have to handle the day on our own.

I was surprised when Luke came in and ordered coffee and biscuits-and-gravy as I scrambled to serve everyone. When I delivered his plate, he said he needed to talk with me about something.

Fearing it was serious, I sat down across from him in the booth. He’d been drawing on his napkin, a diagram of some kind of machine, but he covered it with his hand when he realized I’d noticed it. His face reddened.

“I got to thinking about your bicycle when I got home. Did you get it fixed yet?”

I exhaled with relief. So it wasn’t anything serious. “No, not yet. But I will.”

“You know how to fix a flat?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Not exactly, but I can figure it out.”

“I can do it now.”

“I don’t get off until two.”

“I just bought a bunch of tubes. I could go by that house where you’re staying.”

I imagined Luke working on the patio, startling Penny. “Okay, but let me call Penny first and let her know you’re coming.” She hadn’t been in for breakfast yet.

I slipped into the kitchen and told Wes I needed to make a quick call. I retrieved my cell and dialed. This time Penny answered her landline. She was fine with Luke stopping by.

“It will be a pleasure to meet him,” she said.

Luke blushed again when I told him what she said. I found him both endearing and annoying. I couldn’t imagine why in the world he was so shy.

Later, just before the evening shift waitress came in and I would be leaving for the day, I gave Wes my two-weeks’ notice.

“I’m so sorry,” I added.

“Actually, we saw this one coming. At least Kendra did. On Friday, when that bunch of Amish folk came in. We knew you’d be heading home soon.”

My face grew warm.

“No worries,” he said. “We’ll manage.”

I thanked him profusely for all he’d done, and especially for giving me a chance to waitress even though I’d had no experience. I thanked him also for being so very understanding.

He held up his hand. “Sure, I understand, but I’m not happy about it. Now I have to start back through the pile of résumés we have.”

When I reached Penny’s, she went on and on about how sweet Luke was.

“What a thoughtful person,” she said.

She invited me to share the minestrone she’d made for dinner, and over the meal she said, “Maybe you should give him a chance. It would be nice for you to get to know a local young man.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Too bad you didn’t have a chance to get to know Ezra. You would have
adored
him.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.” I picked up my spoon. “Unlike Luke, Ezra is very outgoing, not shy at all. He has a great sense of humor. Children adore him. He has a wonderful family. And he’s cute, cute, cute.”

“That I noticed, but would he have come over to fix the bike?”

“Absolutely. And he would have had you laughing within a couple minutes of arriving.” At least I thought he would have fixed the tire, although he wasn’t very mechanically inclined. He even needed help sometimes when his motorcycle had problems.

She smiled at that. “A good sense of humor certainly makes life easier.” She put a roll on her plate. “That was something my marriage could have used more of.”

I reached over and patted her hand, my thoughts still on Ezra. Just picturing him made me happy. I would soon be home. Ready to join the church with him. Ready to leave my life as a Mennonite behind. Philosophically, the two churches weren’t that different. I knew I would struggle with the High German, but I could learn that better with time. And
Pennsylvania Dutch. The biggest challenge for me would be no technology. I thought of my cell phone in my pocket.

“What’s the matter?” Penny ladled more soup into her bowl.

“Oh, nothing,” I said. “Except, speaking of Ezra, I need to tell you I gave my notice at work today. I’m going back home.”

She put the ladle back in the tureen. “Oh, my.”

“I’m sorry, Penny,” I said quickly. “I hope I haven’t put you out.”

“It’s just I’ve enjoyed having you here, that’s all.” She smiled. “But I knew from that first night you wouldn’t be here long.”

“I can pay you for another month.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that. It’s been a pleasure having you around, is all.”

“Thank you.” I ducked my head as I spoke, suddenly feeling shy myself. For the first time I second-guessed my decision. I hoped she’d find another tenant soon.

After dinner I called Mom, but she didn’t answer. I left a message, telling her I was planning to take the bus home in two weeks.

The next day, around two, an older Amish woman walked into the café, her cape around her shoulders. She had silvery hair under a black bonnet and smooth skin despite the fact that she was probably somewhere in her early sixties. She was a couple of inches shorter than I and seemed timid. She slid into a booth and then searched the room. When she saw me she nodded slightly but didn’t smile. She turned the coffee cup in front of her right side up, and I hurried over with the pot and a menu.

As I filled her cup, she said in a quiet voice, “Are you Ella?”

I nodded.

“I’m Rosalee. Your grandmother’s niece.”

“Oh, my goodness,” I said, my face breaking into a grin. “I was planning on coming out to your bakery tomorrow.”

She smiled in return and a sweetness filled her eyes. “I heard you were interested in working for me. As it turns out, I need more help than I thought. I’m hoping you can start soon. You can live with me too, if you would like, to save on room and board.”

“Seriously?” I answered, my antennae spinning. Something was up. I
wondered if Luke had spoken to her about me. “But I’m heading back to Lancaster County in two weeks.”

“Have you talked to your mother recently?” She stared at the table.

“I left her a message last night—”

“Call her again.” Rosalee kept her eyes down.

“Why?”

She didn’t answer me.

I couldn’t fathom what Mom had to do with all of this, but I was desperate to find out.

Rosalee handed the menu back to me and said she would only have coffee.

I headed into the kitchen. My shift was officially over. I grabbed my purse and jacket from the closet, told Wes and Kendra goodbye, and then stepped outside, turning my back to the street so I was staring at the brick wall of the building. I dialed Mom’s number and let it ring. Just as I was sure I was about to get her voice mail, she answered.

“Did you get my message last night?”

“Ella, Ella,” Mom said. I knew her saying my name twice didn’t bode well.

I swallowed hard. “Rosalee’s here. She asked if I’d spoken to you.”

“I was going to call once you were off work.”

“I gave my notice yesterday, Mom. I’m coming home.”

“But you wanted to get away…” Her voice trailed off.

“I did.”

“And then you made your decision to stay in Indiana. That’s what Ada said.”

“Yeah, sure, but then I changed my mind.” What was this? No one had ever taken me at face value before. Why should they start now?

“You need to give it more time.” Her voice was firm.

I needed to…what?

She continued. “The Lord may have more for you to learn before you come back home.”

I pressed the palm of my left hand against a smooth brick and leaned forward. I knew what this was about. With Ezra back there again, everyone now thought the best place for me was out here. Incredible. My mother was trying to force away her own daughter.

“You don’t want me,” I said. She was the most cold-hearted person I knew, as cold as the wall in front of me. My own mother.

“That’s not it. You made a rash decision to leave. Now I wonder if you’re making a rash decision to come back. Rosalee has a job for you.”

So they had talked. “I can’t ride a bike all that way to work.”

“It’s my understanding she has a place for you to live too.”

Wow. Obviously, they had discussed my entire situation. The very thought made me furious. When were other people going to stop trying to run my life?

“It would be good experience for you,” Mom added, “in your field of interest, no less.”

I didn’t respond.
Now
she cared about my field of interest? Give me a break!

“Ella, I want you to take responsibility. You can’t be dashing here and there, working yourself into a—”

“Dither?”

“Exactly.”

I bristled, telling myself to keep my voice steady despite the anger that bubbled inside of me like lava in a volcano.

“So, when do you anticipate me coming home?”

“It depends…”

“On?”

“On what you learn.”

On what I learn. And everybody thought
I
was the dramatic one.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm my anger and look at the situation rationally.

Truth be told, living at the Home Place would be amazing. I desperately missed Ezra, but what better way to discover who Sarah Berg really was than to live where she lived, bake where she baked, and try to decipher the rest of her “Recipes for Life” while living where she wrote them? I could even search around at my leisure for Sarah’s missing artwork.

And the icing on the cake, so to speak, would be working at Plain Treats. Though I hated the thought of giving in to my mother’s manipulations, when else would I ever get a chance like this, to work in a real bakery, one located on the property of an old family home, no less? Living at
the Home Place and working at Plain Treats—getting to do both was a dream come true.

If only it didn’t have to happen this way, with a whole gang of scheming Amish and Mennonite puppet masters pulling the strings from two states away.

“Let me think about it.”

“Of course,” she answered.

I managed a raggedy “Goodbye.”

As I hung up she was saying, “I love—”

I never heard the “you.”

My hand shook as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. She didn’t want me. But she loved me. I shuddered.

Squaring my shoulders, I took in another deep breath and told myself I’d be a fool to turn these opportunities down, regardless of how they were coming about. On the other hand, I’d be a fool to stay here and let everyone succeed in keeping Ezra and me apart.

Guess it was clear: Either way, stay or go home, I was a fool.

Once I was back in the dining room, I took a deep breath and then approached the older Amish woman again as I clutched my cape and purse.

“I talked to my mother. When would you want me to start?”

“As soon as possible.”

I glanced toward the kitchen. Kendra was standing in the doorway.

Rosalee spoke to me in Pennsylvania Dutch. I shook my head and said I didn’t understand, even though I caught a few of her words.

In English, she said, “You can come with me today if you like.” It was then that I spotted the buggy out the front window. Luke was in the seat, holding the horse’s reins.

“Ella,” Kendra called out. “A word in the kitchen?”

I followed her, feeling like a naughty puppy. She’d guessed right and explained what was going on to Wes, that Rosalee Neff had come here to offer me a job in her bakery—and that I was thinking about taking it.

“I thought you were going back to Pennsylvania, to your Amish beau,” he said.

“I thought so too,” I replied. “But then this popped up. So now the
question is, do I stay here for a while and get the experience in a bakery I’ve been needing? Or go back home where my boyfriend is?” Feeling like that volcano inside was about to blow, I looked from one to the other and cried, “I don’t know what to do!”