Allison's Journey (8 page)

Aaron gritted his teeth. Did James have to brag about everything he did?

“Allison sure is cute,” James said with a crooked grin. “Don’t you think so?”

“I hadn’t noticed.” Aaron’s fingers made a fist as he fought for control. He knew it would be wrong to provoke a fight, but at the moment, he felt like punching James in the nose.

Just then, the front door swung open and Paul stepped into the room, carrying a wicker basket. “How are you, James?”

“Doin’ real good,” James replied with a nod.

“I see you’ve got what you came for.” Paul motioned to the saddle perched on James’s shoulders.

“Jah. I’m headed home.”

James made no mention of how much the cleaning and oiling had cost, and Aaron figured James had only made an issue of it just to see if he could get a rise out of him. The ornery fellow had a knack for irritating folks—especially Aaron.

“Well, I’d best be on my way. I might stop by the Kings’ place sometime soon and see if their niece wants to go out with me.” James had his back to Aaron, so Aaron couldn’t see the fellow’s face, but he had a feeling there was a wily-looking smile plastered there. “See you later, Paul. You, too, Aaron.”

When the door shut behind James, Paul placed the basket on the desk in front of Aaron. “You ready to eat, son? There are a couple of roast beef sandwiches in here, as well as a carton of your mamm’s tangy potato salad.”

Aaron shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”

“You need to eat something. Besides, your mamm worked hard making our lunches. She’d be real disappointed if you didn’t eat yours.”

“Oh, all right.” It would be a shame to let a tasty roast beef sandwich go to waste on account of his dislike for James Esh.

“I just got around to checking for mail, and I discovered a letter in the box for you,” Aunt Mary said as she entered the kitchen, where Allison was cutting slices of ham for their lunch.

“Is it from my daed?” Allison asked.

“No, it’s from someone named Sally Mast.” Aunt Mary placed the mail on one end of the counter. “If you’d like to read it now, I’ll take over making the sandwiches.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? Sally’s my best friend, and I sure do miss her. I’d like to see what she has to say.”

“I don’t mind at all. Enjoy your letter, and feel free to answer it now, too.” Aunt Mary moved over to the counter, took the knife from Allison, and started slicing the ham.

“Danki.” Allison could hardly believe how agreeable Aunt Mary seemed to be. If Aunt Catherine had been getting the mail, she wouldn’t have told Allison she had a letter until lunch had been served and the dishes had been washed and put away.

Allison thumbed through the mail until she located Sally’s letter. Taking a seat at the table, she opened the envelope and silently read her friend’s letter:

Dear Allison
,

      How are things in Missouri? Do you like it there? Have you made any new friends?

      I miss you. We all do—your daed, Peter, and the rest of your family
.

Allison grimaced.
Sally didn’t mention anything about Aunt
Catherine missing me. She’s probably hoping I’ll decide to stay here in Missouri and never come home
.

“Is everyone all right at home?” Aunt Mary asked. “That frown you’re wearing makes me think something might be wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Allison said with a shake of her head. “Sally’s letter says I’m missed.”

“And I’m sure you’re missing your family back home, too.”

“Everyone but Aunt Catherine,” Allison mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing. It wasn’t important.” Allison returned to the letter:

      
I probably shouldn’t say anything just yet, but I think Peter’s on the verge of asking me to marry him. If he does, I’ll want you to be one of my attendants
.

      
Write back soon and tell me all about Webster County. I want to know about everything you’re doing
.

Your best friend for always,
Sally

Allison was pleased to hear that Sally and Peter might be getting married soon, but she couldn’t help feeling a pang of envy, wondering if she would ever become a bride. She moved over to the desk across the room and took out a writing tablet and a pen. Returning to the table, she wrote a letter to her friend:

Dear Sally
,

      
It was good hearing from you. I’m glad things are going well for you and Peter. Be sure and let me know when he asks you to marry him. I miss you a lot, but I’m making some new
friends here, too, which helps me not to feel so homesick
.

      
Things are so different from what I’m used to in Lancaster County. They drive only open buggies, which is fine during the warmer months, but I have to wonder how they manage during the cold winter months
.

      
Aunt Mary is going to teach me to sew, but we’ll have to see how that goes; I’ll probably make a mess of things. I still prefer doing outdoor things better than household chores, but maybe I’ll learn to like some domestic things, too
.

      
A young man named James gave me a ride home from a young people’s gathering awhile back. Don’t tell anyone, but he gave me my first kiss. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but it felt good to know he found me attractive enough to kiss. I’ve always felt so plain, and since I’m a tomboy, I didn’t think anyone would ever want to kiss me
.

“Lunch is about ready now,” Aunt Mary said, touching Allison’s shoulder.

Allison quickly folded the letter, slipped it into an envelope, and jumped up from the table. She would finish writing later.

K
eep your legs pumping while you hold the material just so,” Aunt Mary said as she showed Allison how to use her treadle sewing machine.

It looked easy enough when Aunt Mary did it, but when Allison tried, things didn’t go nearly so well. On her first attempt, she either pumped the treadle too fast or too slow. Then when she thought she had the hang of things, she pushed the hand wheel backwards and stitched right off the piece of cloth.

On Allison’s next attempt, she stitched the end of her apron to the material. “I don’t know how that happened,” she muttered, pulling the thread from the scrap of fabric. “Makes me wonder if I’ll ever get the hang of things.”

“Try it again,” Aunt Mary encouraged. “I’m sure you’ll get it soon enough.”

Allison pumped up and down with her feet as she guided
the wheel with one hand and directed the cotton material with the other. When the thread snapped, so did her patience. “I’m no good at this!” She pushed her chair away from the machine and stood. “I’d rather do something else, if you don’t mind.”

Aunt Mary put her arm around Allison. “You’ll catch on if you give it a chance. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.”

Allison shrugged. “Can it wait until later? It’s such a nice day. I wouldn’t mind going fishing if there’s someplace nearby—and if I can borrow someone’s pole.”

“There’s a pond up the road that has some good bass in it. I’m sure Harvey wouldn’t mind if you used his pole. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go fishing alone.”

“I’ll be fine. I go fishing by myself a lot back home.”

“Maybe so, but I’d feel better if you took one of your cousins with you,” Aunt Mary insisted. “Dan’s out in the garden pulling weeds with Sarah, but I’m sure he’d be happy to join you at the pond for a while.”

Allison figured it wouldn’t be so bad to have her ten-year-old cousin tag along. At least she’d have someone to talk to if the fish weren’t biting. “That’s fine with me,” she said with a smile.

When Allison left the room, Mary took a seat in front of the sewing machine.
I can’t believe a woman Allison’s age doesn’t know how to sew
, she thought as she picked up the piece of material Allison had been working on.
What kind of a woman is Herman’s sister that she’s never taught Allison to cook or sew?

Mary remembered getting a letter from Allison’s mother once, where she’d mentioned how unfriendly Catherine had
been when they’d gone to visit Herman’s family in Ohio. She’d said that Catherine had seemed distant and unhappy. Mary wondered what could have happened in Catherine’s past that had left her with such a sour attitude. Whatever it was, it shouldn’t have kept Catherine from teaching Allison the necessary skills for becoming a homemaker.

The back door opened with a bang, interrupting Mary’s thoughts. She went to the kitchen, thinking maybe Allison had come back inside. Instead, she found her daughter Sarah.

“Hi, Mama.” Sarah swiped at the perspiration on her forehead and sighed. “It’s hot out in the garden, so I decided to come inside for somethin’ cold to drink.”

“Would you like iced tea or lemonade?” Mary asked.

“Water’s fine and dandy.” Sarah grimaced. “Dan left me alone to pull all the weeds while he took off for the pond with Allison. He sure doesn’t care about helpin’ me one iota.”

“When Allison said she wanted to go fishing, I suggested that Dan go along,” Mary explained. “I didn’t think it would be a good idea for her to go traipsing off by herself when she doesn’t know the area very well.”

“Guess that makes sense.”

“I suppose I should have asked if you wanted to go fishing, too.”

Sarah wrinkled her freckled nose. “No way! I don’t like fishin’!”

“Why not?”

Sarah held up one finger. “Too many bugs bite you.” A second finger came up. “On a day like this, the sun’s too hot to sit for hours waitin’ and hopin’ a fish might snag your line.” She extended a third finger. “If you do catch any fish, you’ve gotta
touch their slimy bodies!”

Mary chuckled. One young woman living in this house was certainly no tomboy!

Aaron rubbed at a kink in his lower back and glanced at the clock on the far wall. It was almost three thirty, and there hadn’t been a single customer since noon. Paul had taken Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, and the girls into Springfield for the day, since both Grandpa and Grandma had doctor’s appointments. Joseph, Zachary, and Davey were helping one of their neighbors in the fields. That left Aaron alone in the shop, which was just fine with him. But he was tired of working, and for the last several days he’d been itching to go fishing. Since things were slow, there would be no harm in heading to the pond. The folks had said they might go out for supper after their shopping and appointments were done, so Aaron was sure they wouldn’t be back until late evening. That left him plenty of time.

He removed his work apron, hung it on a wall peg, turned off the gas lamps, and put the C
LOSED
sign in the front window.
Think I’ll untie Rufus and take him along. The poor critter deserves some fun in the sun
.