Dear to Me (23 page)

 Gabe shook his head. “Not since we found a batch of rotten eggs out behind our henhouse.” He plugged his nose. “Even that didn’t smell half as bad as we do now.”

 “I’ll help you wash down the buggy,” she promised.

 “We’ve got to get this smell off ourselves first.”

 She nodded. “Maybe Dr. Franklin has something we can use to get the odor out of the buggy—and us, too.”

 “My dog Shep got himself mixed up with a skunk once,” Gabe said. “We bathed him in tomato juice.”

 “Did it help?”

 “Some, but it took weeks before that animal smelled like a dog again.”

 Melinda folded her arms. “That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear.”

 Gabe laughed, and so did she. At least it had only been a skunk that had come between them this time. And they’d been able to find some humor in it. That was a sign that things were improving in their relationship. At any rate, Melinda hoped they were, even if she and Gabe hadn’t had the chance to discuss things and get everything ironed out between them.

Chapter 21

M
elinda awoke on Friday morning, tingling with excitement along with a sense of apprehension. Today she would be going to Springfield to take her GED test at the college. Their English neighbor, Marsha Watts, had agreed to give her a ride, but Melinda had only told her folks that she was going to Springfield to do some shopping. It was true. She planned to shop for a few things after she’d taken her test. She would tell her folks about Dr. Franklin’s suggestion that she become a vet after she passed the test.

 “
If
I pass the test,” she murmured as she stepped into a freshly laundered dress.

 Melinda hurried from the room and headed for the kitchen to help her mother with breakfast. Usually, Mama was already up and scurrying about, but today Melinda found the kitchen empty.

 “Where’s Mama?” she asked Papa Noah when he came in from doing his morning chores a short time later. “Was she outside with you?”

 He shook his head. “Your mamm came down with the stomach flu during the night.”

 Melinda felt immediate concern. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”

 “I’d appreciate it if you would cancel your trip to Springfield today,” he said, hanging his straw hat on a wall peg near the door. “She can’t keep anything down and is feeling as weak as a newborn kitten. I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be alone today.”

 “What about Isaiah? Won’t he be at home?”

 Papa Noah shook his head. “Hank Osborn is shorthanded because a couple of his fellows also have the flu. So I’m taking Isaiah with me to help at the tree farm today.”

 Melinda nibbled on the inside of her cheek. “How about Grandpa? Can’t he keep an eye out for Mama today?”

 “He’s got his own share of health problems, Melinda. I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to be exposed to your mamm when she’s sick, do you?”

 “No, of course not, but—”

 “You can go shopping some other day, right?”

 Melinda released a sigh. “Okay, Papa Noah. I’ll run over to Marsha’s house and tell her I won’t need a ride to Springfield after all.”

 Papa Noah smiled. “You’re a helpful daughter, and it puts my mind at ease to know I can go to work knowing that my wife will be in good hands today.”

 Melinda reached for her choring apron.
I suppose I can wait a few more weeks to take that test. Maybe by then I’ll be more prepared.

Gabe stood in front of his workbench sanding the arms of a wooden rocking chair. It was a nice change from working on cabinets, which was what Pap usually stuck him with. Even so, Gabe would rather have been working on the gun stock he’d promised to make for Aaron. After Aaron saw how nice Gabe’s gun stock had turned out, he’d placed an order for one just like it. A couple of other men in their community had also asked Gabe to make them a new gun stock, which meant he had plenty of his own work to keep him busy after regular working hours.

 If he kept getting orders for gun stocks, he might be able to open his own business sooner than he’d expected. If he had his own place, Melinda might understand why he didn’t want to leave their Amish community and start life over in the English world.

 Gabe glanced over his shoulder. His dad was working on a coffee table Bishop Frey had recently ordered for his wife’s birthday.

 Gabe set the sandpaper aside and moved across the room. “Say, Pap, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something.”

 “Sure, son. What’s on your mind?”

 Gabe shifted from one foot to the other, his courage beginning to waver. “I’ve…uh…been thinking that I’d like to have my own place of business.”

 “Are you saying you’d like to open another woodworking business here in our area?”

 “Jah.”

 Pap crossed his arms and stared hard at Gabe. “Would you mind explaining why you’d want to be in competition with me?”

 Gabe shook his head. “It wouldn’t really be in competition. I’d be making other stuff—things like gun stocks, animal cages, birdhouses, and maybe some different kinds of household items, like the trash can holder I’ve made to give Mom for Christmas.”

 “I see.”

 Hope welled in Gabe’s soul. Maybe Pap understood.

 “Do you think you could handle a shop on your own?”

 Gabe nodded.

 “Guess time will tell.” Pap shrugged his shoulders. “In the meanwhile, we’ve got a job to look at in Branson that will take a couple of weeks to finish.”

 “What kind of job?”

 “A bed-and-breakfast needs some new furniture, and they want it to be made by an Amish carpenter.”

 Gabe leaned against his dad’s workbench. “What part of the job will you expect me to do?”

 “That all depends.”

 “On what?”

 “On what all the customer wants made.”

 “Who’ll we get to drive us to Branson?”

 “I don’t know yet. Probably Ed Wilkins. He’s usually available whenever I need to go somewhere outside the area.”

 Gabe headed back to his own workbench. At least Pap hadn’t said he would be stuck doing the menial jobs for the bed-and-breakfast. Maybe he would let Gabe build some of the furniture and not just do finish work.

 “Oh, and Gabe, there’s one more thing,” Pap called over his shoulder.

 “What’s that?”

 “If it turns out you’re still working for me after you and Melinda get married, I want you to know that I’ll pay you enough so you can make a decent living.”

 Gabe sucked in his breath. Should he tell Pap that he and Melinda might not be getting married? Would Pap have some good advice if he knew what Gabe was up against right now? Or if Pap knew the whole story, would he be worried that Gabe might decide to leave their Amish community and go English with Melinda?

 Gabe grabbed his piece of sandpaper and gave the arm of the chair a couple of good swipes.
I’d best not say anything yet. Better to wait until I know for sure what’s what.

When they woke up Saturday morning, Melinda’s mother had said she was feeling better and suggested that she and Melinda pick some produce from their garden. They’d spent most of the morning harvesting tomatoes and green beans. Now they stood at the kitchen sink washing the bounty of produce.

 “Why don’t you let me finish this up?” Melinda suggested. “You were sick yesterday, and it’s probably not a good idea for you to overdo.”

 Mama fanned her hand in front of her face. “I’m fine, dear one. It was only a twenty-four-hour bug, and I promise to rest once the produce is washed and put away.” She smiled. “I appreciated your canceling your shopping trip yesterday and staying home to see to my needs. It proves what a thoughtful daughter you are.”

 Melinda’s face heated with embarrassment. If her mother only knew that she’d planned to do more than shopping in Springfield, she wouldn’t be saying such kind things.

 “All these tomatoes make me think about that day a few weeks ago when the skunk sprayed you and Gabe,” Mama said.

 “The two of us smelled to high heavens, and you wouldn’t let me come inside until I’d bathed in the galvanized tub Papa Noah had set up in the woodshed.” Melinda grimaced at the memory of it. After several baths, alternating tomato juice and a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid dishwashing soap, she had scrubbed so hard she was afraid she wouldn’t have any skin left on her body.

 The day after their spraying, she and Gabe had washed his buggy down with something Dr. Franklin had given her that was stronger than what she’d bathed in. Never again would Melinda knowingly go near a skunk.

 Mama had just placed another batch of tomatoes on a towel to dry when Isaiah entered the room. “I’m glad I didn’t have to go to work with Papa today,” he muttered. “Pullin’ weeds around them trees was harder than workin’ in the garden.”

 “A little hard work never hurt anyone, and I know your daed and Hank Osborn appreciated the help.” Mama smiled. “Both of my kinner sacrificed to help others yesterday, and it pleases me to know we’ve raised such willing workers. I don’t know what I’d do without either of my dear children.”

 Melinda cringed.
What will Mama say when she finds out what I’m thinking of doing? Will she understand why I feel the need to become a vet? Will I feel guilty and miserable once I leave home? Can I really give up all that I have here with my family and friends? I wish I felt free to tell Mama that I’m going to take my GED test as soon as I can reschedule a time. But if she knew, she would probably try to stop me.

 Melinda closed her eyes and leaned against the kitchen cupboard as confusion swirled in her brain like a windmill going at full speed.
Oh, Lord, please help me to know what to do.

Chapter 22

T
wo weeks later as Melinda left the college in Springfield where she’d finally gone to take her GED test, a feeling of weariness settled over her like a drenching rain. The test had been difficult—much harder than she’d expected it to be. But she had studied hard and knew she had done her best. If all went well, by this time next week, she might know the results of her scores.

 She shook the troubling thoughts aside as she approached Marsha’s car.
I’ll figure this out after I get the results of my test.

 “How did it go?” Marsha asked when Melinda opened the car door and slid into the passenger’s seat.

 Melinda shrugged. “It was a hard test, but I think I did okay.”

 “When will you know the results?”

 “In a week or so, I expect.”

 “And then will you tell your folks?”

 Melinda nodded.

 “Would you like to go somewhere for lunch now, or do you want to do some shopping first?” Marsha asked.

 “I’m kind of hungry, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to have lunch first.”

 “That sounds good to me.” Marsha started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “When we get back to Seymour, I’d like to stop by Kaulp’s General Store before I drop you off at your house. I want to buy a couple of those large wooden spoons they sell there.”

 “That’s fine by me. Since Kaulp’s isn’t far from my home, I’ll just walk from there.” Melinda leaned against the seat and tried to relax. Oh, how she wished she knew the results of that test. She hated being deceitful, but if she had told Mama or Papa Noah the real reason she’d gone to Springfield today, they would have tried to talk her out of it. She felt grateful that Marsha had promised not to say anything.